Accurately projecting how potential will develop into a career is one of the most difficult things to do in pro sports. The WNBA draft tends to throw us a few curves every year, and this time those came well before draft day with the additions of Jewell Loyd and Amanda Zahui B. into the mix.

They rocketed to the top of the board. Now several of the questions we had previously about No. 1 and No. 2 remain intriguing but fall a little further down the board.

Here, we give it a go with our picks (shots in the dark?) for the first round, which gets under way at 7 p.m. ET Thursday (ESPN2/WatchESPN) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

WNBA MOCK DRAFT