2019 WNBA Draft: Big Board 8.0, pre-Final Four edition
6. Minnesota Lynx: Arike Ogunbowale, 5’8 G, Notre Dame
There’s so much that fits here with the Lynx and Ogunbowale. It’s easy to think of her as a one-way player because of how much attention is rightly paid to her offense, but Ogunbowale is a max-effort defender who has improved significantly on that end. There’s a lot of Seimone Augustus in her game as a whole, an underrated passer and elite court vision as a whole. But really, when you look at the Minnesota roster, what’s the missing thing? Someone to create her own shot, especially this season, with no Lindsay Whalen, no Maya Moore, and assuming Seimone, while a Hall of Famer, needs to have her minutes managed. Think long-term, and the idea of Ogunbowale as a worthy perimeter pairing with Sylvia Fowles inside could pay dividends for the Lynx for a long time to come.