a female basketball player standing on a court

In a season oozing with breakout potential, NaLyssa Smith is finding her stride alongside her trio of co-stars. Though she found herself outside of the starting lineup early in the season, Smith’s return to the first five has helped her reach a new gear.The No. 2 pick in the 2022 WNBA draft is a top-16 rebounder in the league, grabbing seven rebounds per game. That trails Indiana’s team-leader Aliyah Boston by less than one rebound per game.“I want to keep rebounding hard,” Smith said. “I know I can be one of the best rebounders in this league.”She sits among the top-14 in the WNBA in field goal percentage, too, sinking 50.3 percent of her shots. She is the Fever’s highest ranking player by this metric, and has recorded nine games with 50 percent or greater field goal percentage.“We just really keep talking about paint touches,” coach Christie Sides said. “You’ve got to get paint touches…If you get a paint touch, it just collapses the defense. Especially with the way [Boston] and [Smith] are playing down ther