The 2024 WNBA Draft is upon us, and this year’s draft class is loaded with talent at every position.
It features players like Caitlin Clark, a talented scorer who can find the rim from just about anywhere while also being an elite passer, and Cameron Brink, one of the best defenders in college basketball who can also shoot.
The Indiana Fever once again hold the top draft pick even after securing 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston last season, while the Los Angeles Sparks will pick second and the Chicago Sky will choose third.
Here’s a look at how the first-round of the draft could break down when players take the stage in Brooklyn Monday night.
1. Indiana Fever: Caitlin Clark, G, Iowa
When you get the chance to take a once-in-a-lifetime player you do it, and the Fever are surely not going to pass up on the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, who also notched 1,144 assists during her collegiate career.
The options for Clark of feeding Boston into the post, while also having strong scoring talent like NaLyssa Smith and Kelsey Mitchell alongside her, offer solid support for the former Hawkeye in her first year in the league.
The Fever started to see improvement last season, jumping from five wins in 2022 to 13 in 2023, and adding Clark will certainly help them on their path to becoming a playoff team.
2. Los Angeles Sparks: Cameron Brink, F, Stanford
Losing Nneka Ogwumike to the Seattle Storm was a tough blow for the Sparks, and while Brink brings some of that two-way play, averaging 17.4 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, it’s her defence that makes her stand out.
The Sparks were last in the WNBA in opponents’ field-goal percentage last season and nearly last in rebounds, needing work both on the boards and on defence. While Brink will face more physicality in the WNBA when it comes to her scoring, her defence will certainly be a strength that the Sparks are in desperate need of.
3. Chicago Sky: Rickea Jackson, F, Tennessee
Just three years removed from their 2021 WNBA title win, the Sky’s championship-winning roster is no more. While the team brought back Diamond DeShields this off-season, they lost 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury.
Copper was the team’s leading scorer, and a player like Jackson can not only score but is a big who can do it all, averaging 20.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in college. She will take some of the scoring pressure off of Marina Mabrey while also being able to bolster Chicago’s defence.
4. Los Angeles Sparks: Kamilla Cardoso, C, South Carolina
The Sparks having two picks in the top five gives them the opportunity to select the six-foot-seven Cardoso to play alongside Brink. The addition of Cardoso would give the Sparks unmatched size down low and she is a player who can either score or at least get to the free-throw line when she has the ball under the basket.
Cardoso is also a strong rebounder and she averaged 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game during South Carolina’s perfect season. Her size also allows her to stop shots as she notched 2.5 blocks per game this season.
5. Dallas Wings: Aaliyah Edwards, F, UConn
While there is consensus on the top four picks, the Wings could go many ways with this spot, as they also hold the ninth pick in the draft. They could go for a guard at five, but already have scoring talent in Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally. Or they could go with Kingston, Ont. native Aaliyah Edwards.
Edwards averaged 17.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game at UConn this season, blossoming from a sixth-woman role off the bench to a starter who was heavily relied on during a run to the Final Four. She is a high-IQ player who can be physical down low but also set up her teammates to score with her court vision.
6. Washington Mystics: Jacy Sheldon, G, Ohio State
The Mystics have a lot of holes to fill after Elena Delle Donne elected not to play this season and Natasha Cloud left for the Mercury. The team now looks to rebuild around a returning core of Ariel Atkins, Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes and Myisha Hines-Allen.
Sheldon is an efficient scorer from both inside and outside of the arc, averaging 17.8 points per game this season. She’s also a strong defender and a player who will do it all on the court, similar to Cloud. While she may have to adjust to guarding bigger and more skilled players in the WNBA, she’s a player who will give her all.
7. Chicago Sky: Angel Reese, F, LSU
The Sky and the Minnesota Lynx exchanged picks in a deal that now sees Chicago picking seventh instead of eighth, likely to guarantee they could grab Reese. In exchange, they sent Minnesota the right to swap first-round picks in the 2026 WNBA Draft, a second-round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and forward Sika Koné.
Reese, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 NCAA Women’s National Championship, is a double-double machine who averaged 18.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per game, is able to score down low or from mid-range, and will upgrade the rebounding of whatever team drafts her. The Sky also could use her help defensively as they allowed opponents to shoot 45 per cent from the field in 2023.
8. Minnesota Lynx: Nyadiew Puoch, F, Southside Flyers (WNBL)
The Lynx may be the first team in the draft to dip into the pool of international players. Puoch is able to create her own shot as an athletic big who can run the floor and score from many areas inside the arc.
While her averages of 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds may not seem like much, Puoch ultimately brings a defensive threat, and while the Lynx need some help beyond the arc when it comes to scoring, they won’t pass up a player like Puoch if available.
9. Dallas Wings: Alissa Pili, F, Utah
Depending on how their first pick plays out, the Wings could choose to move their ninth pick, or they may opt to grab Sheldon if she’s available, after losing Allisha Gray, Mabrey and DeShields.
Even if they do select a big like Edwards with their higher pick, it’s hard to pass up on Pili, who shot 40.4 per cent from deep last season while averaging 21.4 points. At six-foot-two she may not have the size some other bigs in the WNBA have, but she’s a player who can catch and shoot with efficiency and will help any team with their shooting from deep.
10. Connecticut Sun: Dyaisha Fair, G, Syracuse
Lost in all the talk of Clark’s record-breaking season was the scoring machine that is Fair, who finished her college career third on the all-time women’s NCAA Division I scoring list. Fair averaged 22.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in college, and will be a scoring threat on any team.
The Sun were the best defensive team in the league in 2023, and a quick guard like Fair, who averaged 2.2 steals per game, could help them out in that area. She’ll need to share the offensive load more frequently than she did in college, which will be no problem if she’s placed with all the talent the Sun have to offer.
11. New York Liberty: Nika Mühl, G, UConn
Recently known for being the girl who had Caitlin Clark locked down in the Final Four matchup between Iowa and UConn, Mühl would be a great fit for the Liberty as they are in desperate need of a perimeter defender like her.
Mühl increased her shooting percentages in her final season and can score from deep, but is more likely to find her teammates for the open shot, which is why she averaged 6.9 points, 6.5 assists and four rebounds per game this season. Even if she doesn’t look for her own shot, the Liberty have other scoring talent that Mühl can find.
12. Atlanta Dream: Charisma Osborne, G, UCLA
Osborne averaged 13.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and four assists per game for UCLA, while also being a strong defender who can create mismatches and was a key playmaker for the Bruins.
The Dream, however, are in need of a three-point shooter, and Osborne’s three-point shot is not her strong suit. If that’s the case, Ohio State’s Celeste Taylor, who averaged 10.8 points per game and made 169 three-pointers in her college career, could fit the bill.
