While Olivia Miles has practically locked in the WNBA Rookie of the Year award, there are still a lot of talented rookies who have shown a lot of potential and growth throughout the season. With less than 10 days remaining in the regular season, we are going to take a look at the top five rookies worth watching in the remaining games. This is not a reflection of who will make the All-Rookie team, but rather a list of which rookies will be interesting to watch in the coming week.
Next week we will do a more extensive list of the rookies who have impressed all season -- including No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd, whose season ended early due to injury. Before getting into our latest CBS Sports WNBA Rookie Rankings, I want to mention one player who did not make the list but gets an honorable mention: Toronto Tempo forward Laura Juskaite. She is finding more consistency in this last stretch of the season and is part of what could be a bright future for Toronto.
She has scored in double digits in her last six games and shot at least 50% in five of them. She also had at least six rebounds in four of those games. Inconsistency and turnovers hurt her this season, but it will be fun to see if Juskaite can keep the momentum going.
Injury disrupted what had been a solid season for the undrafted rookie, but hopefully the FIBA break allowed her to get some rest and she can finish strong. Since coming back from a left groin injury, Taylor has not played more than 20 minutes in any game and has struggled to find her rhythm, as shown by her four points against Connecticut while shooting just 2 of 11 from the field. However, she was putting up some impressive numbers against top competitors before getting hurt.
One of her most memorable outings happened on Aug. 1 with 29 points against the Las Vegas Aces -- which also included the game-winner. Less than two weeks earlier, she had 31 points against the New York Liberty. The talent is clear; right now it's just a matter of getting back to 100%.
SYDNEY TAYLOR TODAY 🔥• 29 POINTS • 2 ASSISTS • 30 MINUTES GAME WINNER 🚨 pic.twitter.com/jObApgRA9N While her FIBA World Cup stats don't count in the WNBA, they still show the level of basketball she is capable of playing in September. Fam averaged 10.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while helping Spain get third place in the tournament. She had a zero-point game against the Wings on Aug. 23, but before that she had back-to-back productive games, with 14 against the Sky on 50% shooting and 20 points against Portland while shooting 7 of 12 from the field with nine rebounds.
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