This is one of the most anticipated WNBA drafts in recent memory thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and other players. A number of impact players are available, but their popularity among hoops fans almost outweighs their skill.
Clark’s trademark logo shots and amazing passing ability have helped the game attract millions of new fans. A record 18.9 million people watched the NCAA championship game between South Carolina and Iowa because of the Iowa star.
The Indiana Fever are predicted to start the season with the highest scoring individual in Division I men’s and women’s basketball history. The Fever hold the first pick for the second year in a row.
“There’s a tremendous amount of excitement now with having back-to-back picks,” Lin Dunn, general manager of Indiana, stated. “I think you’ve seen a great deal of interest in ticket sales around this pick, and I think we’re all excited about adding another top pick to this young team.
“So is there a lot going on? Is there a lot of noise? Is there a lot of excitement? Absolutely.”
Reese is predicted to have an impact in the opening round after helping LSU win the NCAA title in 2023.
Other athletes invited to the Brooklyn Academy of Music draft on Monday include Stanford’s Brink and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso. The 6-foot-7 center assisted the Gamecocks in finishing their tenth consecutive season without a loss in NCAA Division I history. She was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
Although Clark is very certain to go first, Brink, Cardoso, and Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson have all been mentioned as Los Angeles’ options to take at No. 2. Chicago will select third, and the Sparks will get the No. 4 pick as well.
[Read more: How one recruiting class changed women’s basketball: From Clark to Bueckers to Reese]
“They are foundational. They’re an incredible opportunity for our organization,” Sparks GM Raegan Pebley said. “We definitely want to see two players that not only have the skill set to make an impact early, but also a long runway ahead of them, opportunities to develop, opportunities to, not only be excellent in what they do, but how they impact the other pieces around them as we continue to build this team.”
Washington is sixth and Dallas is fifth. The first round is concluded by Minnesota, Chicago, Dallas, Connecticut, New York, and Atlanta.
In all, there are three rounds and 36 picks in total.
“You know, the hardest part of this conversation every year is the reality that second and third-round picks have a really hard time making WNBA rosters,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said. “First-round picks that go late have a hard time making WNBA rosters. We talk about a league of 144. It’s not a league of 144. Many of these teams only carry 11 players and maybe by the end of the season they can carry a 12th.”
INJURY SETBACKS
Every American Knee problems will prevent Elizabeth Kitley of Virginia Tech and Mackenzie Holmes of Indiana from competing in the WNBA this season. Holmes announced on social media that next month she will be undergoing surgery.
“At this time, to ensure my body is healthy and my playing career is as long and successful as possible, I have decided to get the necessary surgery in May to prevent further issues and alleviate the pain it has caused,” she said. “I have declared for the 2024 WNBA draft and pray that a team honors me with a selection knowing I will be ready for the start of 2025 training camp.”
In the last game of the regular season for Virginia Tech, Kitley tore her ACL, which prevented her from playing in the postseason.
“Whenever you see any player go through an injury at any point in their career, but especially at that point, this special season that Virginia Tech was having. But I think she’s a player that has, I’ll use this word ‘track’ again,” Pebley said. “Just a lot of runway ahead of her. She’s going to, I think, have a great career with her versatility, her footwork abilities. And I think her impact around the rim.”
INVITEES
Fifteen players, including Clark, Reese, Brink, Jackson, Cardoso, and Kitley, were invited by the WNBA to the draft on Monday. The others are from Ohio State; Celeste Taylor and Jacy Sheldon; Aliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl from UConn; Dyaisha Fair from Syracuse; Marquesha Davis from Mississippi; Celeste Taylor and Alissa Pili from Utah; and Nyadiew Puoch from Australia.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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