Why Liberty star rookie Pauline Astier wasn't drafted but is outplaying No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Pauline Astier is playing as well as any rookie in the early going of the 2026 WNBA season.
She's doing that despite never being drafted. The New York Liberty simply signed her this offseason.
So far, it's looking brilliant.
Astier, if she keeps this up, will have a dark horse Rookie of the Year case.
She's averaging 16.8 points per game, shooting 46% from 3-point range and dishing out assists while limiting turnovers.
Sabrina Ionescu's injury has forced Astier into this, and the French rookie is playing exceptionally well:
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If she keeps playing like this, everyone will also want to know how she possibly went undrafted.
Why didn't Pauline Astier get drafted?
The key here is how draft rules work for international players.
They're first eligible in the year they turn 20 years old.
She turned 20 in 2022, so that's the year she would've first been eligible. She wasn't a draft-level player at that point, though.
It wasn't until four years later, after Astier shone in Europe, that the Liberty wanted to sign her.
Once an international player goes past their draft year, they're available for any team to sign.
The Liberty were the team that got the contract done, and so they're who the experienced professional, but WNBA rookie, is getting to show her skills this season.
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