Te-Hina Paopao taking next pro steps after ‘very ideal’ WNBA rookie year
Te-Hina Paopao landed in a pretty good situation in the pros.
The former South Carolina women’s basketball player was selected by the Atlanta Dream in the second round of the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Paopao was taken by a franchise hoping to turn a corner after a relatively rough six years. The Dream failed to record a winning-record from 2019 to 2024, though they did make WNBA playoff appearances in 2023 and 2024.
Atlanta appointed a new head coach in Karl Smesko in hopes he’d right the ship. And he did just that. The Dream went 30-14 in 2025, the most wins in franchise history.
“I loved it,” Paopao told The State. “A very ideal situation for a rookie. You had a whole new coaching staff, whole new squad coming in, so we all were able to learn on the fly with each other. I loved every part of it. I love Atlanta, the organization, the city, everything about it. They took really good care of me.”
Paopao was mainly limited to being a role player off the bench in her rookie campaign. She learned from a fellow former Gamecock in Allisha Gray, who was an All-WNBA player and had a career-best season.
Paopao played in 43 games for the Dream and started 15 times. She averaged 16.7 minutes per game. Paopao scored 5.8 points per game and shot a 44% clip from the field and 38.6% from 3-point range.
Her two years at South Carolina made the transition to the WNBA easier, Paopao said. But the switch to the pros wasn’t without its challenges. Paopao felt the biggest adjustment was the physicality in the WNBA.
“The transition was very smooth because South Carolina really prepared me for that. For the crowd, the fans, the play of the game, the pace of play,” Paopao said. “But I probably say the hardest adjustment for me was the physicality of the game in the league. You’re coming in as a 22-, 23-year-old playing against grown women who’ve been in the league for years. Their bodies are already matured and [you’re a] 23-year-old just now getting out of college…
“I knew coming in my offseason I had to be in the weight room, I had to lift, I had to do a lot of things that could prepare me for the physicality of playing against grown women.”
Offseason with Athletes Unlimited
Most WNBA players opt to play overseas following the conclusion of the season. For example, Paopao’s former USC teammates and fellow 2025 draftees Bree Hall (who played in New Zealand) and Sania Feagin (currently playing in Australia).
Paopao opted not to take that route and has instead been playing in the Athletes Unlimited league in Nashville, Tennessee.
“What drew me was being able to stay in the States,” Paopao said of Athletes Unlimited. “I know a lot of people before me, generations before me, had to go overseas to play basketball but I’m fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play in the States. So that was a really big part of why I chose AU. And just a five-on-five setting. I thought that really could help my game as well, going into my second year into the league.”
In general, Paopao said the opportunity to meet and grow relationships with WNBA players participating in AU was a big draw for her. Paopao is one of four former Gamecocks in the league. She’s joined by Hall, Zia Cooke and Alaina Coates. Paopao started as Cooke’s teammate (AU re-drafts teams weekly) and said it’s been great getting to know her and see all the strong former Gamecock connections.
“She’s such a great person,” Paopao said. “She really knows ball. Just watching her excel at such a high level, it’s really nice to see, because I remember watching her at South Carolina. So being able to play with her, it’s been really fun. She’s really a great person, very personable. To be able to have those South Carolina connections, it’s very important…it’s just a special connection with South Carolina Gamecocks, and it’s just something that you can’t really replicate. So it’s really a blessing.”
Through six games with Athletes Unlimited, Paopao is averaging 6.2 points. She’s playing roughly 20 minutes per contest and is shooting 35%. Paopao is also averaging 2.7 assists and two rebounds per game.
Paopao said she’s hoping to hone in on her ability to play point guard during her time with AU and in general this offseason.
“I played a little bit of point guard, last year, my rookie year, so just being able to hone in on that and just be able to make tough passes or just make easy reads, making simple reads,” Paopao said. “So it’s really the IQ of the game that I’m looking to improve on, and just getting reps in. And I worked on a lot of pace coming off ball screens. So that’s definitely something I’ve been working on. Defensively as well, I feel like that was a big thing that we talked about at my end of season meeting with my coaches in Atlanta.”
