Paris Kea still remembers the moment she officially became a WNBA Draft pick. On April 10, 2019, coming off an outstanding senior season at UNC, Kea gathered with family, friends and North Carolina women's basketball teammates at Ham's, a favorite restaurant in her hometown of Greensboro, N.C.
She had a nerve-racking wait through two rounds before finally hearing her name called, 25th overall by the Indiana Fever, at which point the watch party erupted in cheers.
"It was absolutely one of best feelings, nothing short of a dream come true," Kea said a year later, looking back on the experience Thursday on the eve of this year's WNBA Draft.