Liatu King Intrigues in the 2025 WNBA Draft

In partnership with

I was having a conversation the other day with someone, a continuation of many of the convos we’ve had throughout the draft cycle: where are the 3&D wings?

It’s an archetype that’s widely in vogue in the NBA, but we frankly just don’t have players like that in the W. Either you’re a star that can hit 3’s and play defense on the wing (Kahleah Copper, Rhyne Howard) or you’re fighting to make a training camp roster for one reason or another.

You could make the case that Bridget Carleton is right there, although this past year was probably her first as a positive defender. The case can also be made that she’s more versatile than to just call her purely 3&D. Rebecca Allen is right there, and probably the best example, but her three ball consistency can be a question at times. Point being, there just aren’t a lot of players like that in the league right now, and every team needs them.

Once you get out of the lottery, those are the kinds of players I really would like to see teams take bets on in the Draft. You’re almost never going to get someone who will be a primary option that low unless something massively wrong happens in evaluation from other teams, or an extraneous circumstance exists.

Notre Dame forward Liatu King continues to pique my interest as someone with the potential to become a player in a mold similar to those mentioned above.

Before we dive into the full writing, thank you to The Flyover for sponsoring today’s article! Check it out down below!

Cut Through Noise with The Flyover!

The Flyover offers a refreshing alternative to traditional news.

We deliver quick-to-read, informative content across sports, business, tech, science, and more that cuts through the noise of mainstream media.

The Flyover's talented team of editors meticulously collects the day's most important news, ensuring you stay informed on top stories and equipped to win your day.

Join over 950,000 savvy readers and leaders who trust The Flyover to provide unbiased insights, sourced from hundreds of outlets!

Subscribe with One Click!

You might say to yourself “but, can Liatu shoot?” and that’s a fair question.

While King has taken just one 3 in her five years of college ball, her touch and shooting indicators are fantastic. On 59 two-point jumpers this season, King is nailing 45.8% of them, a continuation of her high level shooting during her breakout season with Pitt in 2023-24 when she canned 47.6% of those same shots.

She’s also particularly comfortable off the dribble, shooting over 40% on her off the dribble twos per Synergy Sports, and those are about 40% of all of her jump shots.

So, while King has not shown or really tapped into three-point range yet, she has good mechanics and footwork inside the arc. Can she expand that to outside?

I think it will take time, as does any acclimation, but this is much more about redefining footwork, positioning, and honing shot preparation than needing to teach someone to shoot.

I’d be interested in betting on King’s outside shooting development due to what she’s shown with her athleticism and defensive aptitude. She’s a strong player on the defensive glass, capable of outrebounding her size and most importantly keeping opposing players off the glass. She can switch pretty well onto wings, maintaining a shell against most players 2-4 with some ability to contain outside that in a pinch. I really like her ability to pick things up playing the back line, making late-switches, communicating coverages, and she’s shown a real ability to blow up plays at the rim.

I would point out, however, that she’s often mismatched against true 4s and 5s. I see her being able to defend 3’s in the W, as well as some of the small-ball options at the 4. How she continues to open up the ability to defend with even more versatility with technique and know how will be key for her development. King’s lateral quickness, functional strength, and timing does stand out.

The reason I keep coming back to her is how much she reminds me of a player who had some similar positional questions coming into the league, Naz Hillmon. I’d say King is more of a 3.5 leaning towards a 3, and Hillmon was a 3.5 leaning towards the 4. Both possessed strong skillsets that don’t necessarily equate to what players do at their positions in the league.

Here is King’s Cerebro metrics at Notre Dame this season in comparison to Hillmon’s.

Both players trended more towards the 4 due to a lack of perimeter shooting ability, but had intrigue due to similar feel for how to impact the game outside scoring.

It’s worth noting that Hillmon is listed bigger than King (6’2 vs 6’), but the difference in quickness is noticeable between the two, King more capable of defending on the perimeter in college and coming into the league. I’d also point out that despite both players having equal 0’s at 3PE, King is a heavy jump shot use player where as Hillmon took fewer than 10 her senior season, a more post-oriented player at Michigan.

While I’m not sure I’m ready to make it, a case could be constructed that King may be more ready to step into a pro role than Hillmon was at the same time. Not to say that she’s a better player or has more potential as a pro, but it really has taken Hillmon some time to get comfortable and she’s still figuring out perimeter play a bit.

I’m fascinated to see how teams approach this Draft and the way they approach taking swings on talent. Liatu King has the potential and foundation to become a player at the next level in the right system with the right development.

Check out our Film Room in full!