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The 2025 WNBA season opened with a showdown between the Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream, and lottery pick Kiki Iriafen got to make her long-awaited professional debut. The former USC star was always going to be an impactful player, but she got her career off to an even more promising start than expected.
About halfway through the first quarter, Iriafen caught a smooth behind-the-back dime from fellow rookie Sonia Citron and finished at the basket with a gentle touch.
First career bucket for Kiki Iriafen 💪 Welcome to the W, rook!
WNBA Tip-Off Test Drive presented by @Carmax | WNBA App 📲 pic.twitter.com/EhS6PXKbzr
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 16, 2025
Iriafen established chemistry with Citron and the rest of her Mystics teammates early, proving how prepared she is to make standout moments. In an interview with USA TODAY, Iriafen expressed her excitement over the start of the season.
“I can't believe it's actually here,” Iriafen said. “We've had two preseason games, but tomorrow feels like the real deal. I'm excited to finally be able to compete and get the season rolling.”
Iriafen's career highlight came just one day after celebrating her graduation from USC's Marshall School of Business. The 22-year-old finished graduate school with a Master's degree in entrepreneurship and innovation while going through training camp and preseason games with the Mystics. Iriafen even had the chance to celebrate during a practice the day before the season opener.
The fourth overall pick had to skip walking in her actual ceremony to play in her first WNBA contest, but Iriafen made it clear she thinks the tradeoff is worth it.
“I graduated early last year so I was able to get my big graduation, so I'm not super sad about it this year,” Iriafen explained. “I'm more excited I get to play basketball instead.”
Based on the way her career with the Mystics started, Iriafen definitely made the right choice by betting on herself.
