Kiki Iriafen, a Nigerian-American basketball ahead, has been chosen because the fourth total choose within the 2025 Girls’s Nationwide Basketball Affiliation (WNBA) Draft by the Washington Mystics.

Iriafen, who starred at each Stanford and USC, joins the Mystics as this yr’s fourth-overall choose, bringing a dynamic presence and a elegant professionalism that belies her age. Her journey from collegiate stardom to the skilled ranks is marked by willpower, talent, and a deep sense of identification.

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“I’m excited to be right here in D.C.,” Iriafen stated. “I felt a lot love from followers and even strangers on the road. Persons are simply so enthusiastic about what the Mystics can carry this season, and I’m grateful to be a part of that,” Iriafen stated in an interview with ABC 7 Information.

Reflecting on her development, Iriafen highlighted how the evolution of Title, Picture, and Likeness (NIL) formed her early profession.

“I began school when NIL was first launched, however it was little or no,” she stated.

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“You’re a enterprise; you’re a model, so form of studying what that you must say, being media skilled, all that stuff, I really feel like I’ve already gone via that.”

She additionally expressed pleasure about persevering with these model relationships on the skilled degree.

“Having the chance to construct relationships with manufacturers in highschool after which as a professional, I believe it’s such an awesome alternative to have NIL. I’m excited to see what it’s like being endorsed as an expert,” she added.

Iriafen is targeted on making an influence each on and off the court docket, proudly representing her Nigerian roots and the way forward for girls’s basketball.