With one season ending, leads to another season starting. The Women’s National Basketball Association season is about to begin and which comes with the draft. The NCAA just came off an historic season with women’s basketball and these amazing players are about to start their next chapter in the WNBA. If you missed the WNBA draft, here is a rundown of everything that happened in the first round.
The obvious first pick of the draft was Iowa’s Caitlin Clark to the Indiana Fever. Clark had a historic season beating many records in college like the all-time leading scorer across men’s and women’s basketball. Clark is now ready for the opportunity that the league has to offer for her.
“I think the biggest thing is I’m just very lucky to be in this moment, and all these opportunities and these things, they’re once in a lifetime, and when things might get tiring or you have to do stuff, I think the biggest thing is look at it just as an opportunity. This isn’t something everybody gets to do,” Clark said. Via USA Today
The Los Angeles Sparks were able to pick up Cameron Brink and Rikea Jackson in the 2nd & 4th rounds. The Dallas Wings grabbed Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon in the 5th round. Uconn’s Aaliyah Edwards was then picked in the following round by the Washington Mystics. The Chicago Sky then picked the last two NCAA national champions, Kamila Cardoso and Angel Reese in the 3rd & 7th. Both Cardoso and Reese were college rivals playing for South Carolina and LSU against each other. Now both players are teammates and are ready to get on the court together.
“She’s a great player and I’m a great player. Nobody’s going to get no rebounds on us. It just tells me that I’m going to be in good hands and I’m just excited to get back and work with her,” Cardoso said. Via. chicagotribune
The Minnesota Lynx took Alissa Pili in the 8th round. In the next two rounds, France’s Carla Leite and Leila Lacan were drafted to the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun. Ole Miss’ Marquesha Davis was then drafted in the 11th Round to the New York Liberty. The final 12th pick of the draft was Nyadiew Puoch to the Atlanta Dream. Puoch was very thankful and emotional after getting drafted in the first round.
“It’s huge; we are a big family, we love basketball and my mum, she’s done so much for us,” Puoch said. Via ESPN
This year’s draft was a historical one bringing in 2.45 million views, which makes it the most watched WNBA draft since 2004. May 14th is when the road to the WNBA championship begins. More eyes are on Women’s Basketball now and what is left is for these amazing athletes to play.
