The Seattle Storm have selected their next Big Aussie in the first round of the WNBA Draft. Seattle grabbed forward Ezi Magbegor with the 12th overall pick. The 19-year-old is 6'4" and 176 pounds.
The Storm plan to stash Magbegor over in Australia for a year to give the teenager time to develop. Seattle's bench is so deep, it would probably give her more playing time. The Storm expect her to report in 2020. Although, she may need to pull double duty with the Australian Olympic team, as well. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan start July 24th.
Just over a year ago, an Australian newspaper called her the next Lauren Jackson. LJ played for Seattle from 2001-2012. The 3-time WNBA MVP had to retire due to injuries.
Magbegor was a little banged up this past season. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve told an Australian website that Magbegor probably would have been ranked higher had it not been for the injuries. The Storm's first round pick has a lot of upside.
In the second round, Seattle selected Mississippi State forward Anriel Howard. Howard initially played for Texas A&M before moving on to Mississippi State as a graduate transfer.
For the final pick in the draft, the Storm picked South Dakota State guard Macy Miller. Miller is the cousin of former NBA guard Mike Miller.
Las Vegas had the number one pick in the draft this year. They selected Notre Dame guard Jackie Young.