WNBA: Why the Solar’s Brionna Jones is likely one of the league’s finest vets

Editor’s Be aware: That is one in every of a sequence of tales rating the highest 30 gamers within the WNBA as a part of Quickbooks’ “WNBA Hoopers Hierarchy.” Try the remainder of the rankings right here.

Rounding out the WNBA Hoopers Hierarchy, Swish Attraction’s rating of the highest 30 gamers within the WNBA in 2024, are three veteran gamers who’ve lengthy been regular arms for his or her groups: the Connecticut Solar’s Brionna Jones, the Minnesota Lynx’s Kayla McBride and the Indiana Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell.

No. 28 Brionna Jones

Photograph by Chris Marion/NBAE through Getty Pictures

Brionna Jones, who’s in her eighth season with the Connecticut Solar, ought to find yourself being one of many high put up gamers within the league this 12 months if she will return to pre-injury kind and keep wholesome. Jones, a 6-foot-3 energy ahead, loved a breakout season in 2021 when she was named an All-Star for the primary time and awarded the Most Improved Participant award. That season, she made super defensive leaps as effectively, additionally being named to the WNBA All-Defensive Second Group.

She adopted that up with one other All-Star choice in 2022, and was effectively on her method to a third-consecutive choice when she ruptured her Achilles simply 13 video games into the 2023 season. Jones is again and wholesome this season, however she’s performed restricted minutes within the opening weeks as she works her manner again into recreation rhythm. At her finest, Jones is an All-Star put up participant and one of many league’s premier defenders. She’s artful down low, and has turn into an more and more robust rebounder. If she’s capable of keep on the courtroom this season, the Solar needs to be a drive to be reckoned with.

“We needed to pivot final 12 months together with her going out,” Alyssa Thomas mentioned on Media Day. “Earlier than she received harm, we actually began hitting our stride and understanding our offense.” Rebounding was a specific weak point of the Solar final season, and Jones ought to assist in that division; she averaged 8.2 rebounds final 12 months earlier than happening.

As one in every of Connecticut’s veterans, Jones leads with kindness, her teammates have maintained. “Bri is the candy one,” teammate DiJonai Carrington mentioned. “We love when Bri is available in to appropriate us. It’s the most effective.” And as she acclimates again into recreation form, she’s not notably involved about her personal particular person stats or position on this roster. “I identical to to win,” Jones mentioned. “No matter meaning is completely different yearly. Regardless of the crew wants for me, I simply wish to be that particular person.”

No. 29 Kayla McBride

Photograph by Jordan Johnson/NBAE through Getty Pictures

Kayla McBride has been one of many league’s most dependable double-figure scorers since she was drafted in 2014. A 5-foot-11 guard who can constantly shoot the three, she’s by no means averaged lower than 12.5 factors in a season, and for her profession, she’s hit higher than 36 p.c of her makes an attempt from downtown. For years, she’s been one of many league’s most dangerous knockdown shooters. McBride started her profession in San Antonio, spending seven years with the franchise that finally grew to become the Aces earlier than signing with the Minnesota Lynx in 2021.

She’s coming off a dominant EuroLeague Ladies season, the place she received the Ultimate 4 MVP and helped lead her crew, the Turkish membership Fenerbahçe, to a second-straight EuroLeague Ladies championship. Getting over the hump and profitable all of it was a giant hurdle to beat; in faculty, she led Notre Dame to 4 consecutive Ultimate Fours and three NCAA championship appearances, however was by no means capable of win the championship. “I’m tremendous proud and couldn’t care much less in regards to the Ultimate 4 MVP so long as now we have this trophy,” McBride mentioned final month of profitable all of it.

Minnesota was not anticipated to be within the combine to win the WNBA title season, however the Lynx have loved a surprisingly robust begin to the 12 months, and McBride has been a giant cause why. In her eleventh season, she’ll look to proceed a storied WNBA profession; the three-time All Star (2015, 2018, 2019) is one in every of solely 11 gamers in league historical past with no less than 4,000 factors, 1,000 rebounds and 500 3-pointers made in her profession.

No. 30 Kelsey Mitchell

Photograph by Ron Hoskins/NBAE through Getty Pictures

Kelsey Mitchell, one other one of many league’s high 3-point shooters, is coming off of her first All-Star look, which got here in her seventh season with the Indiana Fever.

Mitchell is likely one of the league’s purest scorers; her 2.5 3-pointers made per recreation ranked fourth-most within the WNBA, with solely the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu capturing a greater proportion on that quantity. The 5-foot-8 guard shot 39.8 p.c from 3 and 44.8 p.c general en path to averaging 18.2 factors per recreation in 2023. She’s now averaged no less than 17.8 factors per recreation in four-consecutive seasons, and is capturing 84 p.c from the road for her profession.

The query for Mitchell has been the way to translate her particular person success into crew success in Indiana. The Fever have by no means made the playoffs in her tenure, and whereas there was hope that this 12 months, with the addition of No. 1 general draft choose Caitlin Clark, that issues might change, it’s been a tricky begin to the season to date. On a person degree, Mitchell has additionally seen each her manufacturing and minutes drop as she makes her return from offseason harm. Already, nevertheless, because the season progresses, she’s begun to extend each her defensive and offensive aggression.

Mitchell famous earlier this season she felt that the Fever didn’t but have an id. “It’s one thing that we’re making an attempt to determine,” Mitchell mentioned. “We’re making an attempt to determine who we’re going to be. Sadly for us, the world has already deemed what they deemed for us—how we’re presupposed to play, how we’re presupposed to look.”

However whatever the the ups and downs of this Fever season, Mitchell has a protracted observe file of being a prolific scorer. As a freshman at Ohio State, she scored 873 factors, the second-most by a freshmen in NCAA Division I historical past. She in the end completed her profession with 3,402 factors, which was second most all-time on the time amongst all ladies’s Division I faculty gamers. If the Fever could make Mitchell, Clark and Aliyah Boston work, the crew might come collectively and instill a tradition of profitable.