Fever's Brianna Turner takes leaf out of her own experience to dish out wisdom to prospects ahead of WNBA draft

Modified Apr 14, 2025 15:03 GMT

May 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist (20) celebrates with Dallas Wings center Kalani Brown (21) in front of Chicago Sky forward Brianna Turner (21) after scoring during the second half at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images - Source: Imagn — May 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist - Source: Imagn

On Sunday, the Indiana Fever's newest addition, Brianna Turner, dropped a couple of suggestions for the draftees in this year's WNBA draft. Taking a page out of her journey to the league, the former Notre Dame star provided insightful perspectives about draft night. The advice comes in time for the 2025 WNBA draft, which will take place on Monday.

"The best rookie advice I heard this past weekend in NYC was to not focus too much on what number you’re drafted, instead focus on being part of the final 11 or 12 on the roster. It’s all about the right fit," she tweeted.

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The former NCAA champion shared another important piece of advice with the upcoming class on X as she drew from her own experiences. She explained that she also wasn’t invited to draft night and offered words of encouragement to those facing a similar situation:

"Also, don’t dwell if you weren’t invited to the draft. I watched my draft from my couch and still enjoyed hearing my name called 🤩😌," she wrote.

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Brianna Turner was an important member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during her collegiate years. A constituent of the 2019 WNBA draft class, Turner was selected in the first round as the 11th pick by the Atlanta Dream. She was immediately traded to the Mercury on the night and spent her first four seasons with the Phoenix franchise.

Brianna Turner explains what she can bring to the Fever after taking massive pay cut to join them

Former Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky forward Brianna Turner opened up on her move to the Indiana Fever during an interview in March. After signing a one-year deal in February, Turner became one of the many additions to the Indiana squad this term as they hope to go all the way this season.

Explaining what she could bring to the table after signing with the Fever, Turner mentioned how she liked to play defense and had a hunger to win. Giving her thoughts through the Fever's X (formerly Twitter) account, she said:

"I am really competitive. I like to run the floor, like to play defense, like to win."

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Brianna Turner took a massive pay cut to join Caitlin Clark and the Fever. Having signed a one-year, $150,000 contract with the Sky last year, Turner signed a significantly smaller contract with the Fever, which is reportedly worth $85,000.

About the author

Arian Kashyap is a basketball journalist at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience at Essentially Sports and Spice Bite and a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Sports Sciences.

Arian's favorite team is the Miami Heat and it’s mainly down to Dwyane Wade being his favorite player of all time. Arian loved how explosive Wade was as a player and he had all the attributes, whether that be shooting, defending or passing. Arian really liked how he won titles both with and without a dynasty behind him.

Arian has also worked with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and was the manager for a Delhi-based women’s team called Garwhal Untied. Garwhal won the Delhi league and were runners-up during his tenure.

Arian has judged essay writing competitions for the Commonwealth Students Welfare Group of India in 2023 and was a part of the U-14 team for the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools academy that qualified for the AIFF Round in 2023.

When not working or watching sports, Arian likes riding his motorcycle and reading.

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Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann