With the 2025 WNBA Draft just hours away, this year's draftees took to the Empire State Building for an early photo op and sight-seeing opportunity.

It's become a tradition on draft day for the green room invitees to join WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert on the ride to the top. This year, presumptive No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers headlined the group, along with college standouts Kiki Iriafen (USC), Aneesah Morrow (LSU) and Hailey Van Lith (TCU).

Expect photos to trickle in throughout the day, but by all accounts, the group had a great time. The Empire State Building shared a shot of Bueckers with her arms outstretched and the city skyline behind her. The players also posed for several group shots, with Engelbert joining them for a pic before they reached the top.

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Apr 14, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Paige Bueckers is interviewed by ESPN after being selected with the number one overall pick to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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For Bueckers, her big day comes less than 24 hours after news broke that she had signed a three-year deal to play for Unrivaled. In her first 10-week-long season as a member of the 3-on-3 league, she will earn more than her entire rookie contract combined, at least according to the current WNBA CBA. In her rookie season, likely with the Dallas Wings, she will make $78,831, not including additional endorsements or bonuses.

Unrivaled players make an average salary of $220,000.

It's a bad look for the league, but the incoming rookie class (as well as last year's) will go a long way toward changing that. WNBA salaries have steadily increased over the last half-decade as the league quickly outgrew its prior structure. With Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese turbo-charging the league's growth last year and Bueckers about to give it another jolt, the WNBA players will opt out of the CBA at the end of the current season.

The next CBA should include higher salaries as well as more opportunities for players to earn money, either through events like the Commissioner's Cup or performance-based bonuses.