The selection itself was a formality. The 22-year-old Iowa sensation was hotly tipped for Indiana, which had secured the rights to the top pick by winning the WNBA draft lottery in December, from the moment Clark announced plans to forgo her final season of college eligibility in February.
ESPN reporter Holly Rowe interviews Nika Muhl after she is selected with the No 14 overall pick to the Seattle Storm. Photograph: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports
Dyaisha Fair poses with the WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected with the NO 16 overall pick to the Las Vegas Aces. Photograph: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports
Aaliyah Edwards hugs her former head coach Geno Auriemma after being selected sixth overall by the Washington Mystics. Photograph: Adam Hunger/AP
Kamilla Cardoso speaks to the media after she is selected with the No 3 overall pick to the Chicago Sky. Photograph: Vincent Carchietta/USA Today Sports
Nyadiew Puoch poses with the WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected 12th by the Atlanta Dream. Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Clark says the goal is to get back to winning ways after she was selected as the No 1 pick by the Indiana Fever.
The Fever have not been in the playoffs since 2016 and Clark will be expected to help be the catalyst that changes that.
The now former Iowa star said in her post-draft press conference that getting back to the postseason will be the priority.
That’s definitely our goal is to get back to championship habits. I’m very lucky to be going there to an organisation that really loves women’s basketball. You see it today, I think they had 17,000 tickets claimed to just watch the draft. I think that shows the excitement in Indianapolis. It’s a great basketball city. Obviously, what the Pacers have been able to do this year is special, in the playoffs. I think I’m just excited.
There’s a lot of young talent on the team, and just getting back to the playoffs and doing everything we can to win a lot of basketball games is certainly the goal.
Clark was also asked on if she feels she has any rivals in the WNBA:
Honestly, I don’t really feel like I have a rival. I think the biggest thing is the WNBA is so competitive right now. Every single time you step on the floor, it’s going to be a rivalry. I think so many teams are loaded with so much talent. This is the most competitive league in the entire world. Less than 144 spots.
So you’d better bring it every single night, and I think that’s exactly what I’m going to do. But I think that’s exactly how I lived my college career, too, is every single game, no matter what the opponent was I prepped the exact same way, I prepared the same way, I brought the same fire, I brought the same energy. I think that’s the biggest thing going into my WNBA career.
Clark also gave a shoutout to her former head coach Lisa Bluder:
She believed I would be here and she coached me really hard to get to this moment. There was a lot of ups and downs. Something I really appreciated about Coach Bluder is no matter what awards or success or wins we ever had or I had, it’s like she never stopped coaching me, she never stopped holding me accountable. She always thought there was ways for me to get better. She still thinks that, and I still think that. That’s one of the things I just love about her.
Caitlin Clark hugs the Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder after being selected first overall by the Indiana Fever. Photograph: Adam Hunger/AP
The first round is in the books. Here is how it went down:
1. Indiana Fever: Caitlin Clark
2. Los Angeles Sparks: Cameron Brink
3. Chicago Sky: Kamilla Cardoso
4. Los Angeles Sparks: Rickea Jackson
5. Dallas Wings: Jacy Sheldon
6. Washington Mystics: Aaliyah Edwards
7. Chicago Sky: Angel Reese
8. Minnesota Lynx: Alissa Pili
9. Dallas Wings: Carla Leite
10. Connecticut Sun: Leila Lacan
11. New York Liberty: Marquesha Davis
12. Atlanta Dream: Nyadiew Puoch
Second round
13. Chicago Sky: Brynna Maxwell
14. Seattle Storm: Nika Mühl
15. Indiana Fever: Celeste Taylor
16. Las Vegas Aces: Dyaisha Fair
17. New York Liberty: Esmery Martinez
18. Las Vegas Aces: Kate Martin
19. Connecticut Sun: Taiyanna Jackson
20. Atlanta Dream: Isobel Borlase
21. Washington Mystics: Kaylynne Truong
22. Connecticut Sun: Helena Pueyo
23. New York Liberty: Jessika Carter
24. Las Vegas Aces: Elizabeth Kitley
Third round
25. Phoenix Mercury: Charisma Osborne
26. Seattle Storm: Mackenzie Holmes
27. Indiana Fever: Leilani Correa
28. Los Angeles Sparks: McKenzie Forbes
29. Phoenix Mercury: Jaz Shelley
30. Washington Mystics: Nastja Claessens
31. Minnesota Lynx: Kiki Jefferson
32. Atlanta Dream: Matilde Villa
33. Dallas Wings: Ashley Owusu
34. Connecticut Sun: Abbey Hsu
35. New York Liberty: Kaitlyn Davis
36. Las Vegas Aces: Angel Jackson
Caitlin Clark speaks to the media after becoming the No 1 overall pick to the Indiana Fever. Photograph: Vincent Carchietta/USA Today Sports
Aaliyah Edwards speaks to the media after she is selected with the No 6 overall pick to the Washington Mystics. Photograph: Vincent Carchietta/USA Today Sports
Angel Reese embraces LSU head coach Kim Mulkey after she is selected with the No 7 overall pick to the Chicago Sky. Photograph: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports
Alissa Pili with the WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected eighth overall by the Minnesota Lynx. Photograph: Adam Hunger/AP
Atlanta Dream select Nyadiew Puoch as the No 12 pick
Puoch becomes the final pick of the first round of the 2024 WNBA draft. Another international player, she comes from Australia and has excelled in the WNBL, the Australian professional league. In 2023, her debut season, Puoch was nominated for the WNBL’s Sixth Woman of the Year and Breakout Player of the Year awards and in her second season, she helped her team win the 2024 Grand Final.
New York Liberty select Marquesha Davis as the No 11 pick
The guard was an All-SEC First Team selection this season, when she led Mississippi with a career-high 14.0 points per game and contributed 4.7 rebounds per game. Davis transferred from Arkansas to Ole Miss in 2022 and helped the Rebels to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She scored at least 20 points in eight games this season. Given the draft is taking place in New York City, the fans in attendance are mostly Liberty fans and their cheers are loud for their newest player.
Minnesota Lynx select Alissa Pili as the No 8 pick
Pili is an extremely physical 6ft2 forward whose breakout season in 2022-23 at Utah, after three seasons with USC, marked a spot in the All-America Second Team and Most Improved Player honours after leading the conference in points per game (20.7) and field goal percentage (59.0). She averaged 21.4 PPG this season and shot 40.4% from 3-point range.
As mentioned earlier in this blog, Chicago did a lot to get this pick. They really wanted Reese.
Reese led the Tigers to the 2023 national title as the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. This season, the 6ft3 forward paced the SEC in scoring (18.6 ppg) and rebounding (13.4 rpg) for the second straight year, becoming the first player to do so since 1990. She led the nation with 5.5 offensive rebounds per game and ranked second with 13.4 rebounds per game.
She had 17 points, 20 rebounds and 4 assists in her last college game, LSU’s Elite Eight loss to Iowa. Rebounding is easily her biggest strength and she has all the tools to become a star offensively.
Her and Cardoso have been playing against each other since high school and now they become teammates as the Sky look to rebuild.
Washington Mystics select Aaliyah Edwards as the No 6 pick
Edwards was key for UConn during three NCAA Final Four appearances, including the 2022 championship game. She averaged career highs of 17.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game this season. And she already has professional experience; she was the youngest member of the Canada women’s national team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Jacy Sheldon wraps up the top five of the draft and is heading to Dallas. The energetic 5ft10 guard was an All-America Second Team pick this season after ranking third in the Big Ten with a team-leading 17.8 points per game. An All-Big Ten First Team choice in her final two seasons, Sheldon paced the Buckeyes in scoring in 2020-21 (16.7 ppg) and 2021-22 (19.7 ppg).
Jacy Sheldon poses with the WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she is selected with the No 5 overall pick. Photograph: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports
Jackson, who joins Brink in Los Angeles, was Tennessee’s shining star with a fantastic scoring record; the 6ft2 forward averaged 19.6 points per game over her two seasons with the Lady Vols. She made a career-high 22 3-pointers this season. She is incredibly tough to beat defensively and she is as close to ready made for the WNBA as can be. This season, Jackson paced the SEC in scoring (20.2 ppg) and registered a career-best 8.2 rebounds per game.
Chicago Sky select Kamilla Cardoso as the No 3 pick
What a month for Cardoso. Her stock definitely went up after March Madness. She is so effective when she gets the ball in the paint and how much she can control the boards.
The 6ft7 centre won two national championships (2022 and 2024) and made three Final Four appearances (also in 2023) with SC. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 Final Four after recording 22 points and 11 rebounds against North Carolina State in the semi-finals and 15 points and 17 rebounds against Iowa in the championship game. This season, she led the conference in field goal percentage (59.4) and blocks per game (2.48) and pacing the Gamecocks with 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
With the 3rd pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft, we select Kamilla Cardoso from South Carolina
The Sparks have a fantastic player as they look to rebuild. She may have had a quieter post-season than some of her other draftees but her ability on both ends of the court will be a massive asset.
Brink capped her Stanford career as the 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award winner.The6ft4 Brink, whowon an NCAAchampionship, is a three-time All-America pick, including a First Team selection this year. She led all Division I players this season with 3.74 blocks per game, ranked fifth with 11.9 rebounds per game and averaged 17.4 points per game.
Clark finished her college career with 3,951 points, 1,144 assists and 990 rebounds, leading Iowa to two NCAA championship games.
The consensus Division I Player of the Year for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, Clark joined Chamique Holdsclaw, Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart as the only players to be named the Player of the Year multiple times.
Caitlin Clark poses with the WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall pick by the Indiana Fever. Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
The 6ft guard is the NCAA men’s and women’s all-time leading scorer, eclipsing Pete Maravich (3,667) and Kelsey Plum (3,527), respectively. This season, she became the only men’s or women’s player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in back-to-back seasons and the first Division I player to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four straight seasons.
Her initial thoughts on what she is most excited for about joining the Indiana Fever:
The biggest thing is they have such a good roster. [Indiana] are a winning franchise. I am just excited to get there. I love playing basketball since I was a young girl and that is not going to change.
After the interview, Clark says hello to Aliyah Boston, last year’s No 1 pick and her new teammate.
The selection itself was a formality. The 22-year-old Iowa sensation was hotly tipped for Indiana, which had secured the rights to the top pick by winning the WNBA draft lottery in December, from the moment Clark announced plans to forgo her final season of college eligibility in February.
A quick interview with Stanford’s Cameron Brink on the orange carpet.
On what her best attribute is that will translate well in the WNBA:
I think it will be guard my guards. My offensive game will be developed but I think I can switch 1 to 5. I mean we’ll see but I think that’s what I can bring immediately to the table.
Brink’s family is close friends with the NBA player Steph Curry, whose mother is Brink’s godmother. She tells us that she was speaking to her earlier today and that Steph came on the FaceTime call and hung up immediately. Classic.
Angel Reese, Caitlyn Clark, and Cameron Brink pose for a photo during draft night. Photograph: Adam Hunger/AP
Earlier, I mentioned that teams can swap draft places up until the day before the draft. And that actually happened this year. The draft order saw a last-minute shuffle yesterday, with Chicago and Minnesota exchanging positions in the first round. In the trade, the Lynx traded their No 7 pick and the rights to Nikolina Milić to the Sky in return for Chicago’s No 8 pick, a second-round pick in 2025, the option to swap first-round picks in 2026, and Sika Koné.
It is certainly interesting that Chicago made such a significant investment to move up one spot in the draft, a move that may seem surprising for a team in the early stages of rebuilding. This likely means that the Sky have a specific player in mind. Is it Angel Reese?
With a rebuilding phase ahead, the Sky have ample time to nurture Reese’s talent. As Reese herself expressed in her draft announcement in Vogue, succeeding in the WNBA is a gradual process, and she is prepared to embrace the journey of growth from the ground up.
If Chicago are indeed going for Reese, this is certainly an interesting way to go about it. While they may have insights into other teams’ intentions, there’s no certainty that their desired pick will still be available when they make their second selection. It’s a bold move for Chicago, especially considering the high cost involved.
Is Angel Reese Chicago bound? Photograph: Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports
Angel Reese is up next to be interviewed. It was unclear until very recently that LSU player was going to declare for the draft. In true Reese fashion, she announced it in Vogue.
On her decision to leave college despite still having the option to stay another year:
It was a hard decision. LSU was good to me. The community embraced me. But I won a national championship and I got my degree. That’s all I wanted to do in college so it was time for a new beginning. I am a sponge. I am a sponge and I am so excited for this new level.
On what aspect of her game she will bring to the W:
Rebounding is something I know I can do if my shots are not falling. That’s something I know can bring to the table.
The draft itself does not start until 7.30pm EST but the pre-show is in full swing. Caitlin Clark was just interviewed inside the venue and here is what she had to say.
On how she thinks her game will translate to the professional league:
I think the biggest thing is my passing. I think that was overlooked during my college career. Don’t get me wrong, I love shooting the ball but I love playing with good post players and with good guards.
On her mindset heading into tonight:
I am ready for this chapter of my life. Maturity wise, confidence wise, basketball wise. This weekend has gone fast. I am just trying to soak it in.
Clark is also a self-proclaimed Swiftie and when asked what Taylor Swift song she’ll blast to celebrate tonight, she said:
Enchanted is my favourite song of all time but that’s kind of sad. But I’ll play it anyway.
How high are the stakes tonight? The college season showcased an exceptional level of talent, setting the stage for an exciting WNBA Draft, especially given the cutthroat nature of the league.
The jump from college to professional basketball is steep. There are only 12 teams in the WNBA compared to the NBA’s 30. Roster spots are incredibly limited. Consequently, the WNBA Draft, unlike its NBA counterpart, tends to favour players with proven collegiate records over those with solely theoretical potential. While projections can anticipate a player’s impact in a different team context, there’s a threshold where a lack of significant accomplishments over four years in college makes it difficult to justify taking a chance on them.
So, just because a player gets drafted tonight does not mean they will actually make a team roster once the season starts. Because of its size, the WNBA cannot afford to be a development league and it is not uncommon for rookies to get waived even after being drafted. Sometimes, players will spend a couple of seasons in Europe after college before playing in the W, just because they need those extra years of development.
But this is an incredibly talented class. And the WNBA does have an expansion plan set with a team from the Bay Area joining in 2025. So maybe we will see a record number of rookies this season come tipoff.
The atmosphere inside the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music is positively crackling more than 45 minutes before the WNBA draft is scheduled to begin. The cash bar is open and a DJ is spinning hip-hop hits from one of the parterre boxes. A total of 15 players have been invited to tonight’s event and each of them is drawing big cheers from the crowd of about 1,000 ticket-holders as they emerge from the wings one by one to take their seats with friends and family at their designated roundtables on the stage.
Tonight was always going to be a fashion bug’s dream and Caitlin Clark did not disappoint. The widely projected No 1 overall pick made (more) history on Monday by becoming the first basketball player, male or female, to wear Prada on draft night. The oversized white jacket, shimmering silver crop top and miniskirt, accessorised with white sunglasses and a Prada bag, was an early hit on the red carpet.
Tonight, we will get three rounds with 12 picks each, so only 36 total players are selected.
The first four picks have been determined by a lottery system. The four teams with the lowest cumulative records from the past two seasons are the ones eligible for the lottery.
The remaining eight franchises are ordered from the worst to best record. Teams can trade draft picks up until the day prior to the draft.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the highly anticipated 2024 WNBA draft. A historic March Madness, which saw record viewership and attendance numbers and some incredible basketball on display, ended with the South Carolina Gamecocks beating the Iowa Hawkeyes to take home their third title.
Some of the biggest stars from the NCAA tournament are here tonight to get drafted to the professional league, including Iowa’s Caitlin Clarke, who is widely projected to be the No 1 pick, and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, the NCAA’s MOP. Also expected to be drafted in the first round tonight are Stanford’s Cameron Brink, UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards, LSU’s Angel Reese, and Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson.
From the first-round picks to any possible sleeper selections, join me for what is sure to be a fun night as we watch the beginning of some of college’s greatest basketball players embark on their professional careers. Let the drafting begin.
If you have any questions, predictions, musings, analysis, complaints, hopes & dreams, movie suggestions or just general thoughts, feel free to send me an email.
