Women’s basketball is on the rise. There’s no denying it. After this year’s NCAA Tournament, which saw UConn demolish South Carolina under the brightest lights on the biggest stage, the WNBA season is just a month away. But teams must restock on new and upcoming talent first.
Highlighted by UConn’s Paige Bueckers and France’s Dominique Malonga, the 2025 WNBA Draft was full of talented hoopers, and NC State women’s basketball got a special claim as just one of two schools in the country to have multiple players invited to attend the draft. After defining the red-and-white for the past two seasons, senior guards Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James were ready to take the next step to stardom.
Unsurprising to Wolfpack fans, NC State was the only school to have multiple players drafted in the 12-pick first round. Rivers was claimed at No. 8 by the Connecticut Sun while James was selected with the final pick of the first round by the Dallas Wings.
Some would feel burdened by the responsibility of being a franchise-defining first-round pick. However, for the star duo, NC State was the perfect stepping stone to the next level.
“The culture, it starts with the fans,” James said. “They’re not just fans, they’re our family. Leading to our coaching staff, they push us day in and day out. Leading to the teammates and the players, the former players that come back to the games and teach us things. And the players that’s on the team, the togetherness, the chemistry that we play with each other on and off the court.”
“You have to have a mental toughness to play at NC State,” Rivers said. “Coach [Wes] Moore is very passionate, I said it all season. He’s a tough coach to play for but it’s only because he cares, and he recruits good people, and I feel like that’s why he gave me a second chance to come in since I came from South Carolina. I’m just blessed that I had the opportunity to play for him. He’s part of the reason that I’m here.”
NC State is no stranger when it comes to sending players to the pros, but Rivers became the highest-drafted player in program history, and for good reason. The Wilmington native averaged 11.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in her final season in the red-and-white. But what makes Rivers special is her talent on the defensive end of the floor, where she averaged 1.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game — being named All-ACC Defensive Team in her final two seasons.
Rivers can do it all, which is exactly what the Sun needed. It made noise last season, going 28-12 and placed second in the Eastern Conference, but couldn’t get over the hump in the playoffs, eventually falling to the Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals.
Ironically, Rivers will team up with the Sun’s other first-round selection, LSU forward Aneesah Morrow, who was the sole reason for NC State’s loss in the Sweet 16 when she put up 30 points and 19 rebounds. But there are no hard feelings from Rivers after Morrow ended her time at NC State.
“That’s my dog. I’m so happy to be playing with her,” Rivers said. “Just to be able to team up with her, she has that dog mentality and she’s just a great person on and off the court, a great teammate. I’ve seen her be a great teammate to others. So, I’m looking forward to playing alongside her and growing together, and we’re going to make some noise for sure.”
But as Rivers began looking to her future with the Sun, her former teammate’s name was called with the 12th pick of the first round. James joins Bueckers in Dallas as they will try to rejuvenate a team that went just 9-31 last season. But for a team that struggled so much on offense, it couldn’t have selected two better players — one who just led her team to a National Championship title and NC State’s own cold-blooded killer.
“Just being that dog, just finding any keys that Dallas needs and me putting that effort for them,” James said. “Pushing myself, pushing my teammates, being that energetic rookie, motivating my vets, being that sponge, learning new information from my vets and when my number is called, whenever that is, I’m being ready.”
James was NC State’s go-to scorer for the past two seasons, averaging 17.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Whenever the Wolfpack needed a clutch bucket or a momentum-swinging 3-pointer, she provided. The lefty possesses a killer instinct that only a few athletes have.
“Whenever that shot clock is running down, I’m trying to find that bucket,” James said. “If I can’t find that bucket, I’m finding that open teammate, whatever gets the team a good bucket and just keeping going.”
The draft officially marks the end of James’ and Rivers’ time together, but the memories and accomplishments they made at NC State won’t be forgotten.
“I love that girl to death,” James said. “We call each other our twins and we’re sisters for life. I told her she’s going to be my flower girl at my wedding. We just love each other so much. We work hard. We have ups and downs. We have so much adversity coming toward us, and just to see both our names called in the first round, it shows a lot.”
