Nyadiew Puoch: The Page Fills In

The Pick

Pick seventeen. Second round of the expansion draft. Portland used it on a player with no WNBA minutes at the time. That's not how most expansion teams operate. Most teams in this spot want warm bodies who can play 44 games right now. Portland looked at Nyadiew Puoch and saw something worth developing.

The logic tracks when you remember her pedigree. Atlanta drafted Puoch 12th overall in 2024. First round. That's not a number you throw at a player unless the physical tools are legitimate. She went overseas instead of suiting up for the Dream, but the talent evaluation that put her in the first round hasn't changed. Portland is betting they can unlock what Atlanta never got to see on a WNBA court.

From Australia

Puoch's path didn't go through the NCAA. Portland's official expansion-draft release lists Australia as her route before the WNBA. At 6'3", she has real forward size and the kind of physical profile that made Atlanta spend a first-round pick on her in 2024. Whatever Puoch brings to Portland, it comes from a development path outside the usual college pipeline.

What to Watch in 2026

Puoch arrived without a WNBA minute to her name. She has one now: 39 games in her rookie season, 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds a night. Modest numbers, but she is on the floor, which was the open question in April.

Portland's 44-game schedule is long, and she has taken most of it on. The question was always whether the physical tools translate: can she defend at WNBA speed, can she finish in traffic, can she make the right read on a closeout. Those are still the building blocks, and she is getting the reps to prove them.

Watch how she fits alongside Bridget Carleton and Emily Engstler in the frontcourt. Portland is building long and athletic. Puoch fits that mold. But fitting a mold and filling a role are different things, and she has to prove the latter.

The Person

Puoch is from Australia, and Portland is betting on upside rather than a finished product. She was the only Australian to make the opening-night active roster after Chloe Bibby was traded to Phoenix on May 8. The Portland sports community has a track record of embracing international players, and Puoch's route from Australia to a first-round WNBA draft pick is exactly the kind of story this city gravitates toward.

She trains and plays at Moda Center, the same building where the original Portland Fire played over two decades ago. Puoch started the May 9 home opener at small forward, scored 5 points, and grabbed three steals in 17 minutes. The starting nod was the moment that confirmed she's locked into the rotation for the inaugural season.