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Atlanta Dream select Te-Hina Paopao with No. 18 overall pick in WNBA Draft

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh04/15/25griffin_mcveigh
south carolina womens basketball guard te-hina paopao
South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao (0) reacts after her team was fouled during the fourth quarter against the Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

One of South Carolina‘s best is officially off the board at the 2025 WNBA Draft. Te-Hina Paopao was selected in the second round with the No. 18 overall pick by the Atlanta Dream. PaoPao will be staying in the Southeast to begin her professional career.

Five seasons of college basketball have now paid off for Paopao. Her journey began out West with the Oregon Ducks, spending three seasons in Eugene. She decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal ahead of the 2023-2024 campaign. Head coach Dawn Staley won the recruitment, bringing Paopao across the country.

Paopao wound up averaging 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game during her time with South Carolina. A lot of individual success was there and the team reached great heights too. A national championship was won in 2024. South Carolina was close to going back-to-back with Paopao on the roster but lost in the title game.

Atlanta is hoping Paopao can be the next great player out of Columbia. Being a second-round pick, Paopao may have slid a little farther than some expected in the draft. However, the Dream are getting a player Staley has spoken highly of in the past. Hopefully, a great fit and value selection.

Dawn Staley speaks to defensive growth of Te-Hina Paopao

South Carolina faced some tests throughout the NCAA Tournament. Indiana was the first to give them a real scare in the second round. The Gamecocks only won by 11 points to earn a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

Indiana was not afraid to make Paopao their main target on the offensive end. She responded incredibly and after the game, Staley was highly complimentary of her performance in that specific game. South Carolina is going to play defense, no matter what, and Paopao stepped up at the right moment.

“They go after her; they put her in ball screen actions,” Staley said via On3’s Gamecock Central after the NCAA Tournament win vs. Indiana. “They target her to be able to defend; they wear her out so her shot isn’t as fluid in the third and fourth quarters. And then, you get tired of hearing it: ‘Hey, Pao, you’re up. They’re coming after you.’ You hear it over and over again. We’re a culture of playing defense, and if you don’t play it, you stick out. Pao is not one that wants to stick out in that way.”