The Best-Ever WNBA Draft Outfits That Stunned On The Orange Carpet

Wearing designer labels on a red carpet, carefully curated by a stylist, was previously reserved for glitzy Hollywood awards shows. But in recent years, one unexpected event has become an incubator of the fashion world’s future tastemakers: the WNBA Draft, the annual pre-season ceremony where teams pick young talent to join their organizations. The league’s newest rookies have turned their debut into a runway, reshaping its relationship with fashion.

In 2024, Angel Reese tapped Vogue fashion editor Naomi Elizée to style her in a look that could’ve been plucked out of the Met Gala (which she’s also attended). Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark made history on the event’s orange carpet as the first-ever basketball rookie to be dressed by Prada for any draft. That event cemented both athletes as up-and-coming style stars and the WNBA as fashion’s new frontier.

Design houses are taking notice, too. On draft day, Coach announced a multiyear partnership with the league and dressed some women for the big night. One such athlete was Paige Bueckers, who, with the help of stylist Brittany Hampton, also wore Louis Vuitton later that evening. Other young players also tapped the pros, including Aziaha James, who worked with stylist Sydney Bordonaro.

“The younger generation of athletes understands branding,” Bordonaro says, crediting social media. “They know what they want and how they want to look. They’re here to make a splash,” she adds. And more importantly: “They’re fearless.”

“The bar keeps getting raised higher every year,” she says of the league’s style game. “What’s beautiful about the WNBA is that there are women ready to [impress] on all areas of the spectrum, tall, short, more masculine, more feminine. And when you have events like the orange carpet, you get such a fun assortment of ’fits.”

That assortment includes some of the most adventurous trends, including décolletage-baring gowns and braless pantsuits. Below, find the most fashion-forward outfits from the WNBA drafts to grace the orange carpet in recent years, from Clark’s history-making mini co-ords to Bueckers’ plunging Louis Vuitton number.

Paige Bueckers’ Braless Suit

What does the No. 1 pick wear to the draft? For Bueckers, lots and lots of crystals — 200,000 of them, in fact. The UConn Huskies alum and 2025 NCAA champ attended the 2025 event in a three-piece suit custom-made by Coach’s Stuart Vevers before changing into something more daring for her post-draft interviews.

To those, the newly minted Dallas Wings guard donned a classic black suit with embroidered lapels from Louis Vuitton, sans bra. According to Bordonaro, the fact that the French label was involved in the draft at all was a “huge moment for women’s basketball as a whole,” adding that she expected nothing less from the athlete.

Azzi Fudd’s Sheer LBD

UConn’s Fudd, named the 2025 NCAA’s Most Outstanding Player, still has a year left to play in the collegiate league, but she showed up — and out — to support her teammate Bueckers at the recent draft. Also working with Hampton, Fudd wore a gloriously draped, see-through LBD by Christopher Esber.

Saniya Rivers’ Deconstructed Suit

Rivers, the former NC State Wolfpack-turned-Connecticut Sun guard, made waves for her deconstructed ivory pantsuit custom-made by her stylist, Golden, and choice of accessory: a white Hermès Birkin bag with the words “THE WNBA BEEN POPPIN” painted on. She had the perfect reply when Bustle commented on the purse on Monday night: “Not too shabby, right?”

Aziaha James’ Harem Suiting

Wearing R13 and CDG by Comme des Garçons, the Dallas Wings’ 2025 draftee expertly balanced punk with coquette with details like pins and bows. Bordonaro, who styled the guard’s look, says, “She gives me female Allen Iverson vibes [or] Teyana Taylor, the perfect mix between masculine and feminine.”

Angel Reese’s Hooded Knockout

Even before draft day 2024, Reese already had group chats buzzing when the forward announced skipping her final year of college to enter the WNBA draft... in Vogue. The Chicago Sky phenom’s partnership with the glossy continued when she commissioned one of its editors to style her days later. The result? A knockout moment in a dazzling silver hooded dress by Bronx & Banco.

Caitlin Clark’s Rhinestone Crop

Jaws dropped when Clark, a fan favorite since her NCAA days, walked into the 2024 draft in a full Prada number: a satin skirt and matching jacket, exposed rhinestone bra, slingbacks, and a Galleria mini. “Having a storied fashion house like Prada dress a player from head to toe for the draft was major,” Bordonaro says. And the Italian label’s stamp of approval gave the league cred.

Cameron Brink’s Elegant Cutouts

Brink cemented herself as one of the league’s spiciest dressers the moment she stepped onto the 2024 draft’s carpet wearing Balmain. The forward’s head-turning black-and-white number featured a waist cutout, a one-sided, collarbone-flaunting shoulder, and a hip-high slit. Peep that Carrie Bradshaw-inspired rosette moment, too.

Kamilla Cardoso’s Fiery Red Pantsuit

Cardoso also came in hot at the 2024 draft when she showed up in a fiery red pantsuit by MinhLe — sans bra. The center has since brought that same daring energy to her tunnel walks, telling Bustle that showing her body makes her feel confident.

DiDi Richards’ Bandeau Bra & Mini

Since Richards attended her own draft in 2021, she’s developed a habit of chicly serving at the annual event. The New York Liberty player’s chicest, however, was in 2023, when she donned a Kim Kardashian-cosigned bandeau bra, a leather mini and matching jacket, and utilitarian-inspired, multi-pocket thigh-high boots.

Haley Jones’ Velvet Number

Jones may have been drafted by the Atlanta Dream in 2023, but the velvet Sergio Hudson set she wore to the function belongs elsewhere: the draft’s fashion Hall of Fame.

Zia Cooke’s Glitzy Keyhole Cutout

In 2023, Cooke was welcomed by the Los Angeles Sparks in a crystal-encrusted stunner: a long-sleeved Albina Dyla gown with a massive, décolletage-baring keyhole cutout framed by sparkly embellishments. The guard leaned into the glitzy look with an equally shiny Cult Gaia clutch and Chanel earrings.

Sources:

Sydney Bordonaro, stylist