Saniya Rivers

Rivers had an encouraging rookie season after being selected by the Sun with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and she ended the year with a flourish by posting back-to-back 16-point performances. Although the Sun struggled to rack up wins in 2025, Rivers established herself as a solid building block for the team, averaging 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks in 26.1 minutes per game. She appeared mainly off the bench over the final month of the regular season, but it wouldn't be surprising to see her back in the mix for a starting role in 2026 now that she has a full year of professional experience.

Rivers moved into the starting lineup due to the absence of Leila Lacan (personal), and the former embraced the opportunity and led the Sun in scoring. The rookie will aim to end the season on a strong note Wednesday in a rematch against the Dream, though it's uncertain if she'll remain in a starting role.

With Leila Lacan (personal) sidelined, Rivers will draw the start for just the fourth time since Aug. 1. Over her last five appearances, the rookie has averaged 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals across 26.2 minutes per game.

The rookie has scored at least 10 points in three of the past five games and five of the previous eight contests. The good news is that she bounced back nicely after a disastrous 18.2 field-goal percentage (2-11 FG) last time out Saturday against the Lynx.

Rivers made a spot start last time out as Leila Lacan played through a minor eye injury, but the former will yield to the latter in the first five Wednesday. Rivers played just 19 minutes during the spot start and logged three points on three field-goal attempts. In 12 games off the bench this season, Rivers is averaging 10.0 points, 2.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks over 25.8 minutes.