ANALYSIS | A Draft for the Ages
Photo Credit: WNBA
On Apr. 15, the 29th WNBA draft took place in Brooklyn, New York, signalling the beginning of a new era in women’s professional basketball. Several star players from the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) put their names in consideration for the draft.
Unsurprisingly, the Indiana Fever used their number one pick in the draft to select Caitlin Clark, Iowa’s star point guard. Clark, who brings an unparalleled offensive capability to the league, has broken the record for most points scored by a college basketball player in both the men’s and women’s Division I leagues. She appeared in the NCAA finals twice and won the Naismith Award — the highest honour of collegiate basketball — two years in a row.
The Fever already boast the 2023–24 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Aaliyah Boston. Boston and Clark have the potential to form an exciting new pairing that could significantly strengthen the Fever’s offence in coming seasons.
Clark’s former Iowa teammate and captain, Kate Martin, was also drafted in the second round by the Las Vegas Aces, the league’s defending champions. In an interview after the draft, Martin said that she had only attended the event to support Clark, but was ecstatic that her name had also been called.
“There are a lot of emotions right now,” Martin said in an interview with ESPN. “I’m really happy to be here. I was here to support Caitlin, but I was hoping to hear my name called. All I wanted was an opportunity and I got it. I’m really excited.”
Caitlin Clark, however, was not the only pick at the star-studded draft. The second overall pick went to the Los Angeles Sparks, who selected Stanford’s 6’4” centre Cameron Brink. Brink was the nation’s leader in blocks, and won the Naismith Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year. Brink’s height and court mobility could make her a strong defender for Los Angeles and open the door for a franchise playoff run.
Tall and talented defenders continued to make the draft even more interesting when two conference rivals were drafted to the same team. Kamilla Cardoso, the indomitable 6’7” centre from South Carolina, and Angel Reese, Louisiana State University’s multi-faceted “Bayou Barbie”, were both chosen by the Chicago Sky. Cardoso was drafted third, with her height giving her a significant advantage on the court. Reese, the seventh pick, has a fiery playing style that, combined with Cardoso’s defensive power, could transform the struggling Sky team. Cardoso averaged 10 rebounds per game in her final year in the NCAA, and Reese averaged 13. “Nobody’s going to get no rebounds on us,” Cardoso said during a press conference after the draft.
The Washington Mystics drafted the number six overall pick Aaliyah Edwards, from the University of Connecticut. After losing stars Natasha Cloud and Ella Delle Donne in the offseason, the Mystics are aiming to build their roster from the ground up, and Edwards might be the solution to some of their glaring issues.
Several foreign players were also selected in the first round of this year’s draft. French Guards Carla Leite and Leila Lacan, the ninth and tenth picks respectively, are still undetermined for the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun. However, their ball control and court skill could help these two franchises in capitalizing on their success last season. CBS Sports calls Lacan “arguably the best guard prospect in this class outside of Clark,” and if the acquisition is successful, this will be a great addition to the Sun’s roster. However, the French basketball federation’s schedule could conflict with the WNBA’s, which puts these selections into question.
Another exciting international draft is twelfth-pick Nyadiew Puoch, Australia’s “Block Doctor”. With her selection, the Atlanta Dream are clearly looking to add even more defensive skill and size to their roster. After placing fifth in the league last year, they should not be counted out to improve their rank in the upcoming season.
After the NCAA finals between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Iowa Hawkeyes averaged 18.7 million viewers, the conversation around women’s basketball changed. With stars like Clark, Cardoso, Reese, and Edwards declaring for the draft, and the exciting picks that followed, the WNBA can look forward to its most watched season ever. The women’s finals beat the men’s DI numbers for the first time ever, and at its peak reached 24 million viewers, which is more than any professional game since 2019. Things are changing when it comes to the star power, advertising, and hard data backing up women’s pro-level basketball.
However, salaries in the league may not reflect that. Many fans were shocked to learn that Clark, who is one of the most talented players to enter a professional basketball draft, will be paid less than her NBA counterparts. According to an article by Deadline, the minimum salary for a player in the NBA is $1.12 million USD, whereas number one pick Clark will make merely $76,535 in base salary from the Indiana Fever as part of a four-year, $338,056 deal with the team. On the other side of the coin, the 2023–24 number one draft pick in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama, is making $12 million a year — part of his four-year, $55.2 million contract.
"America, we have been talking about this for 20 years. Finally, you guys are woke," professional basketball player and two-time Olympic gold medallist Angel McCoughtry told CNN. Revenue differences between the NBA and WNBA differ very significantly, and that could be impacting Clark’s lacklustre salary. According to Bloomberg, WNBA players make around 9.3 per cent of the league's total revenue, contrasting to NBA players' 50 per cent, due to a collective bargaining agreement made in 2020.
Despite this controversy surrounding base salary, the 2024–25 draft class may find a high revenue generator in the form of advertising and sponsorship. Deadline reported that Clark is on her way to signing a $28 million shoe partnership with Nike, and LSU star Angel Reese has inked deals with everyone from Goldman Sachs to Reebok.
As the excitement builds before the first regular season WNBA game on May 12, a new era of women’s basketball approaches. How the league and players will reshape the game based on growing fan interest is yet to be determined, but change will need to be made to accommodate a new set of stars. The 2024–25 draft class, filled with record-setters and award-winners, may be only the beginning of a sports upheaval for the ages.