Te-Hina Paopao contract figures with Atlanta Dream revealed after WNBA Draft

Te-Hina Paopao‘s contract figures with the Atlanta Dream has been revealed after the 2025 WNBA Draft. The former South Carolina star was selected No. 18 overall in the second round.

According to Spotrac, Paopao’s contract will amass $305,957 if she stays with the Dream for four years, beginning with a $69,267 salary for her rookie season. By 2028, her salary would steadily increase to $88,317 for the final year of her rookie deal. Picks No. 13 through 24 all receive the same contract figures, per Spotrac’s WNBA rookie scales.

Paopao averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game during her two season with South Carolina. A lot of individual success was there and the team reached great heights, too. A national championship was won in 2024. However, South Carolina was close to going back-to-back with Paopao on the roster but lost in the title game to Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s draft, and the UConn Huskies.

During her final season at South Carolina, her head coach Dawn Staley spoke highly of Paopao’s defensive capabilities. Perhaps this could be one of her stregths that translates to her game in the WNBA.

“They go after her; they put her in ball screen actions,” Staley said via On3’s Gamecock Central after the NCAA Tournament win vs. Indiana. “They target her to be able to defend; they wear her out so her shot isn’t as fluid in the third and fourth quarters. And then, you get tired of hearing it: ‘Hey, Pao, you’re up. They’re coming after you.’ You hear it over and over again. We’re a culture of playing defense, and if you don’t play it, you stick out. Pao is not one that wants to stick out in that way.”

Despite being selected in the second round, Paopao was the first pick by the Dream overall on the night. They would make one more selection on the night, which would come in the form of Taylor Thierry from Ohio State.

The Atlanta Dream finished the 2024 season with a 15-25 overall record. That earned the team an eighth-place finish in the final WNBA standings last season.

The Dream will look to put that record behind them once the new WNBA season begins for them on May 16. They’ll tip-off against the Washington Mystics in the regular season opener. Although, they’ll also meet in the first preseason game on May 7.