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Bitget enters three-year partnership with UNICEF Luxembourg to advance blockchain literacy among young women

by admin June 16, 2025

Bitget has committed to a three-year partnership with UNICEF Luxembourg to advance digital skills and blockchain literacy among young people through the Game Changers Coalition programme.

In a press release sent to crypto.news, Bitget pledges to support the women-focused program with the aim of reaching up to 300,000 participants in 2025. These participants include adolescent girls, parents, mentors and teachers with blockchain skills from eight regions; Armenia, Brazil, Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, and South Africa.

Bitget’s educational arm, Bitget Academy, will aid the humanitarian body to establish its first interactive blockchain training module that will be held in-person and virtually. The module will focus on developing video game creation skills for teachers and the younger generation.

According to data from UNICEF, young women in low and middle-income countries miss out on $15 billion in economic opportunities due to a gap in internet access and digital skills compared to their male counterparts. As 90% of today’s job vacancies require digital skills, the Game Changers Coalition aims to close the gender skill gap.

Bitget and UNICEF Luxembourg announce partnership to deliver digital and tech skills for girls | Source: Bitget

Additionally, Bitget (BGB) is also planning to introduce major blockchain protocols and developers from across the web3 landscape to support the educational initiative led by UNICEF Luxembourg. These figures may be able to serve as mentors and partners in the programme.

Executive Director of UNICEF Luxembourg, Sandra Visscher believes that both the UN body and Bitget are in agreement that digital skills can become a powerful driver of opportunity and inclusion, especially in elevating young people.

“By collaborating with Bitget, we want to empower adolescent young people with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to shape their own futures,” said Visscher in her statement.

With the help of Bitget Academy, including support from the $10 million initiative Blockchain4Her, Bitget plans to enhance digital literacy and financial independence among women from an early age.

Bitget’s Blockchain4Her initiative has previously supported women through mentorship programs, funding opportunities, and educational resources. Another Bitget-led initiative, Blockchain4Youth also previously pledged $10 million in support of scholarships, workshops, and hackathons over five years.

Last April, Bitget teamed up with Avalanche to boost digital asset adoption and blockchain technology across various grassroot regions in India.

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June 16, 2025 0 comments

Perkz enters free agency after VIT failures

Esports

Growing up in the FGC: How two young prodigies became fighting game legends

by admin June 15, 2025

It’s no secret that North America struggles in almost every esport. As competitive gaming has taken the global stage, the region has been left behind. This makes the story of fighting game heavyweights, NoahTheProdigy and KingReyJr, an anomaly.

These NA prodigies were competing in tournaments against adults when they were still in elementary school. Both also grew up as one of three siblings, with their fathers getting as involved as they could to help them achieve their dreams despite trying to raise two other children at the same time.

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In their respective fighting games, they’re carrying NA on their back as full-time pro players, managing to turn fighting games into their job before they turned 20.

NoahTheProdigy had the highest NA placement at both Capcom Cup 11 and EWC for Street Fighter 6, and KingReyJr is the highest ranked NA player on the Tekken 8’s 2025 World Tour. They’re changing the storyline of their whole region.

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But, after sitting down with and talking to them, it’s clear that there’s a lot more separating these two than the game they compete in. Just because they both grew up in the fighting game community doesn’t mean they have the same story.

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NoahTheProdigy decided being a Street Fighter pro was the only option

NoahTheProdigy has been making headlines since he was in grade school. Entering his first tournament at seven years old, he’s been competing for over a decade. And, according to him, being a Street Fighter pro was his only plan. He wouldn’t have accepted anything else.

“I never had a backup plan. This is 100%. If you have a backup plan, that means your plan A isn’t good enough and you’re not confident enough,” he said.

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“Only b*tches give up. If you give up, you’re a b*tch.”

Noah’s approach is a brazen one, and one that rarely works out in esports. No backup plans, no compromises, just a full commitment to competing and getting better. But rarely doesn’t necessarily mean never.

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His father fully supported him on this journey, encouraging him to focus less on school and more on Street Fighter.

Instead of homework, Noah was studying the Street Fighter GOATs. His father Moises encouraged him to chase his dreams and never give up on them, no matter what anyone told him.

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“I explained to [Noah] ‘There’s gonna be crowds yelling and all that and all you do is tune ’em out and just focus.’ You just have to teach your kid what’s right, wrong. Noah, when he loses, you know what I say to him? ‘This is what it’s called, son. You take a licking and keep on ticking,’” Moises said in an interview with Giant Bomb all the way back in 2011.

NoahTheProdigyNoah’s father got a custom-printed shirt just to cheer his son on at tournaments when he was younger

Even before esports was a feasible career path, Noah’s father supported him. When it did become a real possibility, his father supported him even more, buying him a new PC setup during 2020’s lockdowns so he had a good setup to play on and make content.

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Moises’ never-back-down mentality stuck with Noah, even through harder times when he had to work whatever job he could get to stay afloat and prove he was serious about Street Fighter.

“I was working some sh*tty-ass jobs, I ain’t gonna lie. But I always knew that it was gonna work out.”

From there, Noah grinded until he finally got signed with Twisted Minds in 2024 and was able to turn his dream into a full-time job at 19. Now, he’s trying to find out how to put North America on top of Street Fighter.

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“I wouldn’t say I’m the best. This business is just hard. It’s hard to win. I mean, Japan is so strong, I think as of right now they’re just better than us. They won Street Fighter League. They placed way higher than us in the Esports World Cup. They won Capcom Cup,” Noah explained.

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“America has an ego, and they don’t know how to control it. That’s why we don’t get better.”

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Though Noah talks a lot of trash and regularly calls people out, he tries to keep things surface-level and focus his criticisms on his and his competitors’ shared profession, Street Fighter. The trash talk is just part of his personality, and he’s a lot nicer in person than you’d think from scrolling his Twitter timeline.

Noah cheering on some Street Fighter players between his pools matches at Combo Breaker 2025

“I’m a really nice guy. I only talk sh*t on Twitter because it’s full of b*tches. I mean, they don’t understand me because, like, they have college tuitions set up. They don’t understand my background and what I came from,” he explained.

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While Noah has ambitions of winning the biggest events in the world, he already feels a deep sense of satisfaction in what he’s been able to achieve and using his skills to uplift himself, his family, and his community.

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“I’m already a legend in life with where I come from and where I’ve been. If I start losing now, I’m still a legend in my hood. That’s all I care about.”

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KingReyJr was making reads in Tekken before he could read books

KingReyJr was competing in tournaments even earlier than Noah was, going to his first Tekken tournament when he was five. However, his journey started even earlier, at only two and a half years old, when his father noticed something truly special.

KingReySr, Rey’s father, would host Tekken 5 sessions in his home, and Junior would pull up a chair and watch. He was barely old enough to speak but was already analyzing the game deeper than anyone thought.

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KingReySr recording his son’s match against E1P1C, one of Chicago’s best Tekken players, at Scrims Gaming Center

Older Tekken titles have a joke character called Mokujin that mimics the moves of a random character on the roster, and that moveset changes every single round. The challenge is figuring out which character you got stuck with. In the case of the original Tekken 5, it would have been 32 different characters.

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Before he was even in Kindergarten, KingReyJr could figure out who around 80% of the cast was from their animations alone.

“Mokujin popped up on the screen, he started moving, and Junior pointed at the screen,” KingReySr told me. “He said, ‘That’s Steve Fox!’ We were blown away with the fact that he knew who it was just based on the movement. I had never sat down and taught him the names of the characters.”

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KingReySr took this as a sign that he had to teach his son how to play Tekken, that there was talent there he wanted to refine. He then entered his son in his very first tournament at five years old. Now, he’s a world-class player at just 19.

After years of dedication, competing full-time in Tekken has become KingReyJr’s first real job.

“Never worked a ‘legitimate’ job. Vitality is the first official job I’ve actually had,” Rey told me. Even at 19, he’s got more time under his belt than most fighting game pros.

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“I’ve just grown into it, I was born into this and raised in it. I’ve been a part of the FGC for 14, going on 15 years, I was literally molded and shaped by it,” KingReyJr explained.

But, unlike Noah’s parents, having good grades was a must for Rey Sr. The moment KingReyJr’s grades dropped, Tekken was over. And even then, he had to prove he was still putting effort into improving in the game, especially considering his dad was paying for him to travel worldwide.

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“I’ve always seen it as an investment in [my son’s] future. Granted, there always needed to be things in place like keeping his grades up, doing well in school,” Rey’s father explained. “And then, on top of that, showing that he’s always trying to improve. It didn’t make sense for me to put him in events where he wasn’t continually trying to improve his game and get better.”

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I asked KingReyJr if he felt like being in the FGC changed his life, but he doesn’t really know of any other way of living. He’s been in the FGC from the very beginning.

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“I kind of don’t know anything else. I was growing in the FGC my whole life. This is kind of the only thing that I do know. But, I mean, I’m happy with where I came from, happy with how I grew up to be where I am today,” he explained.

“I’ve been ready for something like this for what feels like my whole life. Even at VS Fighting 2024 – cause that was my first time making it to Top 8 at a big tournament ever – I still managed to get second.”

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VS Fighting is one of Europe’s biggest competitions, and KingReyJr’s 2024 performance is likely a big part of what landed him his sponsorship with Vitality. A North American player demolishing a European major was almost unheard of at the time, especially since Fergus, one of Europe’s best competitors, plays the same character as Rey.

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I told him I’d expect players over there to know how to play against him because of that, and Rey had this to say in reply:

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“They don’t know how to play against me.”

KingReyJr and NoahTheProdigy may have a similar background, but they’re two very different people. However, there are two distinct similarities: Both men worked incredibly hard to get where they are, and their fathers did everything they could to support that journey. There’s no “correct” way to be a parent, but this is about as close as it gets.

The next best fighting game players in the world are probably hitting their first Evo this year thanks to months of begging their parents to pay for it.

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NoahTheProdigy’s journey with Street Fighter and KingReyJr’s journey with Tekken have not only given them careers most people can only dream about, but these experiences have also molded them into men their fathers can be proud of.

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June 15, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Ranking WNBA roster cores: Stacking 13 teams’ young players

by admin June 6, 2025

Neil PaineJun 5, 2025, 07:48 AM ET
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The 2025 WNBA season is riding a wave of momentum from last year’s record-breaking popularity, expanding to 13 teams with the debut of the Golden State Valkyries and increasing the schedule to 44 games per team. But the most exciting future belongs to the players themselves — from whether reigning MVP A’ja Wilson can lead the Aces back to the top after Las Vegas was dethroned by the champion New York Liberty, to how much higher a new generation of stars, led by electric sophomore Caitlin Clark, can soar.

The league is currently led by players in the middle of their primes, part of a golden generation that includes Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and 2025 MVP front-runner Napheesa Collier. Weighted by leaguewide value produced (see explanation below), the average age of a WNBA player this season (28.5 years old) is the highest it has been in league history, breaking a mark that has been surpassed in each of the previous three seasons.

Even though the veterans haven’t left the court yet, the WNBA’s future is in excellent hands. Clark’s recent quad injury aside, she is the No. 1 must-watch draw, while names such as Clark’s Fever teammate Aliyah Boston, Dallas Wings No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers, Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor and Liberty sharpshooter Leonie Fiebich are growing their games as well.

From left: Washington’s Emily Engstler and Sonia Citron, Indiana’s Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston and Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor and Jordan Horston form some of the WNBA’s best young cores. ESPN Illustration

That makes now a great time to assess which teams have assembled the greatest collections of young talent to power success in the future. In quantifying which teams have the best young cores, we were aided by a simplified forecasting system that projects every WNBA player’s value over the next five seasons, including 2025. (For value, we’re using a measure I call Consensus Wins per 44 games (CW/44), which blends estimates of wins added from three different advanced stats: Estimated RAPTOR, Win Shares and Player Efficiency Rating.)

The projection formula is mainly based on a weighted average of each player’s performance over the past three years — with more recent seasons counting more — with adjustments for aging, draft status and regression toward the mean.

Then for each team, we added up the total five-year projected CW/44 from players currently in their age-25 season or younger, to arrive at a rough guideline for how valuable each team’s current nucleus of young talent figures to be in the near future. These projections weren’t used strictly for the rankings, but they formed the basis for our assessments — with light editorial judgment used when projecting upside and accounting for context such as injuries or role changes.

With all of that in mind, here’s how the WNBA’s youth movement stacks up — and which teams are sitting on the biggest troves of future production in the league. Note: Stats and records are through June 3:

Jump to a team:
ATL | CHI | CON | DAL
GS | IND | LAS | LV | MIN
NY | PHX | SEA | WAS

Average age (league ranking): 28.5 (6th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024 (league ranking): 11.9 (1st)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025 (league ranking): 21.1 (1st)
Key players to build on (age): Caitlin Clark (23), Aliyah Boston (23), Lexie Hull (25)

It’s no surprise to see the Fever here with the brightest group of young stars in the WNBA. With Clark and Boston, Indiana has the No. 1 picks from the 2023 and 2024 drafts — each of whom went on to win Rookie of the Year in back-to-back seasons as well. When healthy (and both have been extremely durable throughout college and the pros, up until Clark’s recent injury), no team has a dynamic duo this good and this young.

That’s particularly true when you consider how well their games complement each other’s, with Clark serving as the WNBA’s ultimate heliocentric perimeter creator and initiator, and Boston scoring inside the arc with high volume and efficiency. The two took some time to figure out how to mesh in Clark’s rookie season last year, but both were improving their numbers early this season before Clark got hurt. Boston has a sky-high 65.7 True Shooting % (TS%) this season, for instance, while scoring 16.8 points per game.

Don’t sleep on Hull, either; the fourth-year guard out of Stanford has improved each year of her WNBA career and is tracking for a breakout performance.

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1:30

How serious is Caitlin Clark’s injury?

Alexa Philippou reports on Caitlin Clark’s quad injury and what it means for the Fever.

Average age: 24.8 (youngest in league)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 4.6 (6th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: 13.8 (2nd)
Key players to build on: Sonia Citron (21), Aaliyah Edwards (22), Kiki Iriafen (21), Jade Melbourne (22)

The Mystics have improved already from last year, with their net rating rising from -3.7 points per 100 possessions in 2024 to +0.8 in 2025, and their youth movement is a big reason why. Three of their four leading minute-earners are in their age-22 season or younger — led by Citron and Iriafen, pick Nos. 3 and 4 in this April’s WNBA draft.

Citron, who helped lead Notre Dame to the Sweet 16 in March, has taken to the Mystics right away; she’s scoring 15.0 PPG with a scorching 65.5 TS% (hitting 40% of her 3s). Fellow rookie Iriafen is playing beyond her years as well, and we can’t forget about the comparative veterans of the bunch as well: Edwards, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 draft who is recently returning from injury, and Melbourne, who is earning more playing time with her all-around play.

We could also name-drop more players here from the league’s youngest team — 2022 draft picks Shakira Austin (No. 3) and Emily Engstler (No. 4) and 2025 No. 6 pick Georgia Amoore (who suffered a torn ACL and will miss the season). Bottom line: Washington is loaded for the future.

Average age: 30.6 (13th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 6.9 (3rd)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: -0.2 (10th)
Key players to build on: Ezi Magbegor (25), Dominique Malonga (19), Jordan Horston (24)

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The Storm are in an interesting place here, as they are simultaneously one of the most veteran-laden teams in the league — Gabby Williams is 28 while Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike, Alysha Clark and Erica Wheeler are all 34 or older — but also a team with promising next-generation talent.

Magbegor is having a rough start to the 2025 season, but she has been one of the best young two-way bigs in recent seasons, and Malonga went No. 2 in this year’s draft thanks to her impressive combination of size and skill. The Storm also have Horston (who made big strides last season) and 2024 rookie Nika Mühl, but both will miss the 2025 season with ACL injuries.

That creates uncertainty about just how much this group can produce down the line, but Magbegor and Malonga are an imposing pair to build from.

Average age: 28.0 (3rd youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 5.5 (5th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: 8.2 (5th)
Key players to build on: Rhyne Howard (25), Naz Hillmon (25), Te-Hina Paopao (22)

Howard alone gives Atlanta a strong foundation: The 2022 No. 1 draft pick and WNBA Rookie of the Year turned 25 about three weeks before the season opened, and she easily has the most total points by a player under 25 over the past four seasons. The Dream are one of the most improved teams early on despite Howard’s offense not quite rolling yet, so there’s even more room for them to grow.

Beyond Howard, Atlanta also has Hillmon, a fourth-year forward who has great per-minute numbers despite lower playing time this year, and a pair of 2025 rookies: Paopao and Taylor Thierry. Neither has seen much game action so far, but Paopao’s shooting could help her carve out a regular role.

Average age: 28.2 (4th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: N/A
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: 6.7 (6th)
Key players to build on: Veronica Burton (24), Justė Jocytė (19), Carla Leite (21), Janelle Salaun (23)

The Valkyries are the youngest franchise in the WNBA, as the league’s first expansion squad in 17 years. But what about Golden State’s foundational young players? They are also in good shape, after the team poached Burton, Leite and Kate Martin in the expansion draft, signed Salaün as an international free agent and drafted Jocytė at No. 5 in the 2025 draft as a long-term investment.

Salaün has immediately been the team’s top scorer, Burton has embraced a greater offensive role while maintaining her trademark efficiency, and Leite has performed well in limited playing time. Jocytė remains in Europe for 2025, but her upside is undeniable.

Average age: 26.1 (2nd youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: -1.4 (12th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: 8.9 (4th)
Key players to build on: Paige Bueckers (23), NaLyssa Smith (24), Maddy Siegrist (25)

Armed with a trio of recent top-three draft picks — Smith (No. 2 in 2022), Siegrist (No. 3 in 2023) and Bueckers (No. 1 in 2025) — plus the intriguing potential of Aziaha James, the Wings have a solid young supporting cast set up around the prime-age core of Arike Ogunbowale, DiJonai Carrington and Myisha Hines-Allen.

Much of this bunch’s ability to rise or fall comes down to Bueckers’ ceiling as a star, and the early returns have been quite good. She currently boasts a +3.1 Estimated RAPTOR, which is particularly impressive considering the tendency for highly touted WNBA rookie guards to face a steeper learning curve than bigs in the pros.

That Bueckers has stepped in and played with efficiency right away is a terrific sign for her — and Dallas’ — potential.

Forward Myisha Hines-Allen, 29, is one of the Wings’ more veteran players as she plays in her eighth season in the league. Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Average age: 28.7 (9th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 9.4 (2nd)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: -1.0 (11th)
Key players to build on: Angel Reese (23), Kamilla Cardoso (24), Hailey Van Lith (23)

The Sky had one of the most productive 25-and-under corps in the league last season, between rookies Reese and Cardoso, and Chennedy Carter (who has since graduated out of that age category and is no longer in the league).

But some inconsistency from Reese and Cardoso also confounded the advanced metrics, and the team’s rough start in 2025 (they’re being outscored by 18.0 points per 100) adds further confusion. Cardoso has certainly improved her offensive game this season; she has boosted her PPG from 9.8 to 12.8 while shooting better and passing more effectively.

Reese, on the other hand, has been underperforming. She remains one of the top rebounders in the league, but her shooting percentage has dipped from 39.1% last season to 31.3%. It’s a small sample so far, and Chicago has the potential to land higher on this list.

Average age: 29.3 (12th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 6.4 (4th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: 4.1 (7th)
Key players to build on: Leonie Fiebich (25), Nyara Sabally (25), Marquesha Davis (24)

The defending champion Liberty are one of the oldest teams in the league, but the young players they have punch above their weight in terms of performance. Chief among those is Fiebich, who played a key role in New York’s title run as a rookie a year ago. She’s off to a slower start in 2025, but her combination of all-around efficiency will be important as the Liberty attempt to repeat.

The other youngster in New York’s main rotation is Sabally, who is battling a knee injury but makes a big difference on defense as a rim protector when she’s on the court. Davis, the No. 11 pick in 2024’s draft, is still waiting for more of an opportunity, which are generally hard to come by for up-and-comers on this roster.

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0:32

Which team’s 7-0 start is more impressive: Lynx or Liberty?

Monica McNutt weighs in on why the Lynx’s 7-0 start is slightly more impressive than the Liberty’s due to strength of schedule.

Average age: 28.3 (5th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 2.0 (8th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: -2.6 (12th)
Key players to build on: Olivia Nelson-Ododa (24), Jacy Sheldon (24), Saniya Rivers (22), Rayah Marshall (21)

A full-scale rebuild for the Sun, just a few years removed from a Finals run in 2022, means plenty of focus on the next generation that might lead Connecticut back to a title push. Right now, that remains a work in progress for a one-win team.

Under-25 players Sheldon, Nelson-Ododa and Rivers are getting at least 24 minutes per game apiece for the team this season, to varying degrees of success — Nelson-Ododa has a positive RAPTOR on offense, Rivers is positive on defense and Sheldon continues to struggle to deliver on her potential as 2024’s No. 5 pick.

A couple of other decently high draftees, Marshall and Aneesah Morrow, haven’t gotten much of a look yet, but that might change with injuries across the roster and a general sense of wanting to see what the team has in what appears to be an otherwise lost season.

Average age: 28.6 (tied for 7th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 0.3 (9th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: -0.1 (9th)
Key players to build on: Diamond Miller (24), Dorka Juhász (25), Alissa Pili (24), Anastasiia Olairi Kosu (20)

Similar to the Liberty, the Lynx are in win-now mode and have little need for developing young players who can’t contribute right away. Napheesa Collier is having an MVP-level career season, and none of that can go to waste.

Each of Minnesota’s top seven players by minutes this season is 28 or older this year, so the future is somewhat on the backburner — its most used player in the 25-or-under club is Miller, the 2023 No. 2 pick who has improved but is averaging 8.2 MPG. The talent for these younger Lynx isn’t lacking as much as the opportunities.

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0:22

Napheesa Collier gets the hoop and harm for Lynx

Napheesa Collier dances through the defense and gets the and-1 to fall for the Lynx vs. the Mercury.

Average age: 28.9 (10th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 2.7 (7th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: -5.6 (13th)
Key players to build on: Cameron Brink (23), Rickea Jackson (24), Sania Feagin (22), Sarah Ashlee Barker (23)

The Sparks’ young contingent is riddled with absences — with Brink out since midseason last year with a torn ACL, and Jackson and Rae Burrell missing games recently as well. When they have played, L.A.’s 25-and-under set has struggled, producing the lowest value in the league this season. (Each of the Sparks’ five players in that category — Barker, Jackson, Liatu King, Burrell and Feagin — has a RAPTOR of -5.7 or worse.)

Brink and Jackson, two of the top-four players drafted in 2024, have the highest potential, but the former suffered a torn ACL last June (she’s expected to return this month), and the latter has not impressed in the advanced metrics yet. Both trends have a chance to change later this season.

Average age: 29.2 (11th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: -0.8 (11th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: 9.3 (3rd)
Key players to build on: Monique Akoa Makani (24), Lexi Held (25)

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If we were just basing this ranking off of 2025 results to date, the Mercury would be much higher. The team’s surprising start (Phoenix ranks No. 4 in net rating) has been driven in part by the play of rookies Akoa-Makani and Held, both of whom are rotation regulars (Akoa-Makani is even starting) and are producing very good numbers early in the season.

The only thing holding down the Mercury in this projection is that neither player has much of a track record and each went undrafted, which outweighs the upside of a handful of games’ worth of sample size. But if both end up being this good all season long, Phoenix would have a couple of amazing diamond-in-the-rough pickups on its hands to help them both now and in the future.

Average age: 28.6 (tied for 7th youngest)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2024: 0.0 (10th)
CW/44 from Under-25 players in 2025: 1.8 (8th)
Key players to build on: Aaliyah Nye (22), Elizabeth Kitley (23), Kierstan Bell (25)

A year after having practically no rotation members age 25 or younger — Kate Martin was the only one who played more than six games — the Aces are still heavily dependent on their veterans, with good reason, but they have at least thrown a few more minutes (7 to 10 per game) to the likes of Nye, Bell and Kitley this season. None of that group was drafted any higher than Bell at No. 11, however, and she is the oldest of the group. (Kitley, for what it’s worth, has good metrics in a very small sample so far.)

As long as A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young are the franchise’s present, the Aces are not exactly looking to the future generation quite yet.

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June 6, 2025 0 comments