After struggling in her rookie season, the former No. 3 pick has put her speed and defensive prowess on full display in 2022.
There were times throughout last season when Aari McDonald wondered about her place in the WNBA.
The 5' 6" guard starred at Arizona, captivating national audiences in March 2021 as she led the Wildcats to the national championship game. Following her team’s runner-up finish, the Dream selected her No. 3 in the ‘21 draft, wanting to make her a franchise centerpiece.
But her whirlwind adjustment to the professional rank didn’t come easily. She missed her first seven field goal attempts and didn’t score a point until her third game. As Atlanta cycled through three head coaches, McDonald went from averaging 33.6 minutes during her senior season in college to just 16.4 as a pro rookie. “It was mental,” McDonald says of last year’s challenges. “It wasn’t nothing physical.”
Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports
Any self-doubt she might have had has been silenced this season, though, as McDonald has blossomed under first-year coach Tanisha Wright. McDonald is now playing almost 26 minutes per game, while doubling—or nearly doubling—her scoring output (from 6.3 per game as a rookie to 11.1 in her second year); steals average (0.8 to 1.8); and field goal attempts per contest (5.8 to 8.4). Atlanta was one of the league’s biggest surprises throughout the season’s first half, and has played itself very much in the league’s playoff picture. McDonald’s renewed presence is one reason why.
“I wanted to reintroduce myself to the fans,” she says. “I definitely felt forgotten last year. I wasn’t able to showcase what I can do against some of the best women in the world. This year, I’m just really taking that to heart and putting my hard work on display every night.”
Despite her uneven adjustment last summer, McDonald was named to the W’s All-Rookie team. She smiles, though, when asked to reflect on what it meant, saying, “It’s a really great accomplishment, but I’m like, ‘There is so much more than I could have did.’”
Throughout the offseason, she sought to learn from film study, trying to better understand different situational reads, and figure out when to slow down and when to play at a more frenetic pace, the latter being one of her strong suits. Wright has lauded McDonald’s ability to change speeds, noting that there are times she’ll put McDonald into the game to change the pace of the action. But McDonald, herself, says she doesn’t think she’s gotten faster, just that she has a better grasp of how to use her ability. “I would say I’m getting back to being a slasher,” she says. “The game has slowed down for me.”
One of the most integral parts of McDonald’s continued development is her ability to succeed no matter the role she is asked to play. For six games, while guard Erica Wheeler was out with a foot injury, McDonald was slotted into the starting lineup. In them, she averaged 16 points, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals, all while showcasing the disruptive on-ball defense which has been a staple of her repertoire.
When Wheeler returned in late June, McDonald moved back to the bench, where she pestered opposing ball-handlers. While her minute total has decreased, her impact has not. And thus far of the team’s top eight three-player lineups in terms of net rating (minimum 100 minutes played), McDonald is part of seven of them.
“I’ve told her many times, it’s very hard to do what she does and only being in the league for two years,” Wheeler says.
Wheeler only met McDonald this past offseason, but the 31-year-old guard has been a regular source of advice for McDonald, 23, even despite the two playing a similar position. The way Wheeler looks at it, the more competition between the two of them, the better both players, and the team, will be.
On June 17, McDonald tied her career-high of 20 points against the defending champion Sky. She says that game helped prove to herself that she could get to her spots and thrive against the league’s top competition. “Bringing back that dog mentality and knowing that I can compete with the best of them,” she says.
Since then, McDonald has scored in double-figures five times and dropped over eight points in all eight contests. Though she has returned to a bench role, she is no longer lost among the franchise’s reserves.
“She knows what she’s capable of,” Wheeler says. “And she’s just letting the world know what she can do.”
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