ESPN analyst Andraya Carter summed it up perfectly as she gestured to the 2024 WNBA draft class, which features a host of stars including Kaitlyn Clark, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink.
“This group has changed things,” she said.
She's right, or soon will be. In just one month, we'll see the impact of young women joining the oldest women's professional sports league at a time when women's basketball is at an all-time high and more popular than ever . The sport is riding the wave of a hugely successful and most-watched Final Four, finally stepping into the spotlight after decades of being relegated.
“Women's basketball is not a fad,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said before the draft began. “We have steadily built this momentum over the years.”
The question is, what kind of staying power does this 2024 draft class have?
This year's draft class is the most star-studded draft class since 2013's “Big 3,” when Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne, and Skyler Diggins (now Diggins-Smith) were taken first, second, and third, respectively. gathered together and sparked a lot of discussion. It brings energy to the entire league.
Eleven years later, these three are still around, albeit with their own individual struggles. Delle Donne was sidelined by injury for much of his professional career. Diggins-Smith missed the 2023 season after giving birth, then went through a bizarre and seemingly ugly breakup with the Phoenix Mercury before signing with Seattle. Of course, Greiner has been unjustly detained in Russia for nearly a year, and her absence during the 2022 season was obvious and heartbreaking.
The staying power of these three superstars is remarkable despite their playing careers being put on hold for one reason or another.
With just 144 roster spots across 12 teams, the WNBA is the world's most difficult professional league to establish. (Due to salary cap regulations, many teams only register 11 players, resulting in a total roster of nearly 136 players.)
This is cruel to even the best players in the college game. It's not uncommon for a player to have their name called on draft night and then be cut before the first game. Consider that 2021 top pick Charlie Collier is no longer in the league. In fact, only seven players from the 2021 draft were on the roster entering last season.
If you're a draftee, you're not going to like those odds.
On Monday night, before Caitlin Clark took the No. (Scheduled to begin play).
In the meantime, how many of Monday's players could actually make an impact in the WNBA? Is there enough space for them?
Of course, we know what Caitlin Clark is up to in Indiana. And players like 6-foot-7, mobile post Camila Cardoso don't come around often. She will definitely find a house on her list. Cameron Brink's ability to make an impact on both ends of the floor should help her establish her WNBA team (in this case the Los Angeles Sparks) for the long term.
There is much more to worry about than these examples. Not because these young women lack talent, but because they lack opportunity.
A lot of players ended up in what was definitely the best situation for them. Daisha Fair, a small scoring machine from Syracuse, will learn more from Las Vegas Aces Becky Hammon than anyone else. Angel Reese and his relentless athleticism will thrive under new Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. UCLA's Charisma Osborn is headed to Phoenix, but the Mercury are in dire need of a scorer at the lower end of the salary scale.
However, roster spots are limited. That's a shame, especially at a time when there seems to be no limit to the growth of women's basketball.
It's time for the WNBA to step up and get serious about expansion. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. From high school to college, our players elevate their games and take action every day. The WNBA powerhouses need to stop dragging their feet and name a new or revived team in the next round.
The 2024 draft class will be remembered as one of the strongest teams in league history, a testament to the explosion of talent in women's basketball. But if most of these players aren't on WNBA rosters in three years, it would be a loss for everyone.
Then they won't be the group that changed the game. They will be like many others before them. And that's not the way to grow a game.
