Brittney Griner got to Phoenix right when Diana Taurasi was ready for her. By the time Griner met her in 2013, Taurasi had been the brash, bucket-getting face of the WNBA for nearly a decade, winning two championships and putting the Phoenix Mercury on the map…
Brendon Kleen
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The WNBA is poised to blow the whistle on its 28th season Tuesday night. From the juggernaut Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty to new marquee talent like Caitlin Clark taking the floor, the league is growing faster than ever. Here’s what you need to know.
There will be four games played Tuesday night:
The New York Liberty vs. the Washington Mystics
The Indiana Fever vs. the Connecticut Sun
The Phoenix Mercury vs. the Las Vegas Aces
The Minnesota Lynx vs. the Seattle Storm
2023 MVP Breanna Stewart joined the Liberty in free agency last February after playing her first seven years in Seattle. Joining a core cast of Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Betnijah Laney and Courtney Vandersloot, Stewart led the Liberty to the finals, where they fell to the Las Vegas Aces.
The Fever are bringing rookie phenom Caitlin Clark to Connecticut, where tickets have already sold out at the Mohegan Sun Arena – the first home opener to sell out in over 20 years, the team said in a press release. Clark became college basketball’s all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader in March and, after being selected at the top of the 2024 draft, has big expectations heading into her first season.
While Clark is the new kid in town, the Las Vegas Aces are the big kids. The team won its second championship in a row last year, beating the Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the series despite missing multiple starting players. Even with hoop legend Candace Parker’s retirement, the Aces still have stars in spades, returning two-time MVP A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray.
The Phoenix Mercury will be without star Brittney Griner, the team announced Monday, after the center fractured a toe on her left foot. Griner missed all of the 2022 season due to her months-long detainment in a Russian prison on drug charges.
The Storm have passed on from the Breanna Stewart era, clocking in third on CBS Sports’ power rankings (Behind the Aces and Liberty). The team acquired forward Nneka Ogwumike and guard Skylar Diggins-Smith in free agency to assist the league’s leading scorer, Jewell Lloyd.
The opening night slate will be available to watch on ESPN networks, with select games streaming on ESPN+, Disney+, and the WNBA League Pass. The rest of the season will be televised across CBS, ESPN, ABC, ION, Prime Video, and NBATV.
Regular season play continues until late September, with the All-Star game scheduled for July 20 in Phoenix. The WNBA will pause play after the All-Star game until August 15 this year so the athletes can compete with their respective national teams in the Summer Olympics.
With the groundwork laid by the WNBA’s previous stars and the addition of exciting new talent like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, more eyes are on the league than ever before. This year has seen a significant uptick in investment in the women’s league.
The WNBA consists of only 12 teams, with 12 roster spots per team – it isn’t uncommon for a drafted player to get cut from the final roster just weeks later. The Los Angeles Sparks, who drafted Brink and Jackson with top five picks, waived the 28th overall pick McKenzie Forbes on Sunday.
Luckily for players on the bubble, the WNBA is expanding for the first time since 2008. League Commissioner Cathy Englebert announced in October that The Golden State Warriors were awarded a WNBA team for 2025. On Friday, CBC Sports reported that Toronto would be next, receiving an expansion team for 2026.
“It’s complex because you need arena and practice facility and player housing and all the things, you need committed long-term ownership groups. The nice thing is we’re getting a lot of calls,” Englebert said during a pre-draft press conference last month, adding that she was confident the league could grow to 16 teams by 2028.
Along with expanded job opportunities, WNBA players will be receiving expanded benefits previously reserved for their male counterparts. The league announced a charter flight partnership with Delta Air Lines last week so players will no longer have to fly to games on commercial airlines.
“I express my appreciation and support for a bold move by the commissioner and team governors that in turn shows that they understand and value the health and safety of the players. It is time to be transformational. It’s time to bet on women,” WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike said in a press release.
While Clark and the Fever were seen enjoying themselves on a charter flight to Connecticut Monday, personnel from multiple teams told ESPN they had not heard from the league about when they would be permitted to charter.
The increasing investment in the WNBA isn’t just internal – the rising profile of the league has brought sponsorship opportunities to athletes as well. Clark reportedly signed a $28 million endorsement deal with Nike, which announced a forthcoming signature shoe with A’Ja Wilson – the first Black woman to headline a signature shoe with the company since Sheryl Swoopes in 2002.
Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand SKIMS unveiled an underwear campaign Monday to celebrate its blockbuster partnership with the league featuring Candace Parker, Cameron Brink, Dijonai Carrington, Kelsey Plum and Skylar Diggins-Smith. The collaboration is SKIMS’ first to feature female players. The company, valued at $4 billion by Forbes, also has partnerships with the NBA and Team USA.
A’ja Wilson of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces is getting her own Nike signature shoe.
The news was announced on Saturday in a release from Nike, with Wilson showcasing a sweatshirt in a photo on X that read, “Of Course I Have a Shoe Dot Com.”
In the news release, Nike said they were “proud to introduce A’ja Wilson as the newest member of the brand’s signature family, marking the next chapter of partnership with one of basketball’s greatest athletes.”
Wilson worked side-by-side with Nike’s team of innovation, product, and design experts to create a signature shoe collection “inspired by her distinctive style, incredible performance and unapologetic realness,” the news release said. “As one of the most iconic basketball players of her generation, of course, she got a shoe.”
Wilson, a South Carolina native who won back-to-back WNBA championships with the Aces – among her many other accolades, applauded the partnership.
“It’s been incredible working with Nike toward a dream of having my collection, and it really is an honor to take this next step and become a Nike signature athlete,” Wilson said in the news release. “From the logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we’ve worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style.”
Wilson joins a roster of women athletes partnered with Nike to develop signature collections, including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Sabrina Ionescu.
Wilson said she hopes her collection is empowering for women.
“I hope when girls wear this shoe, they believe in themselves,” she said. “I want them to hopefully lace them up, feel powerful and understand that nobody can stop them from their dreams. Set those goals high. Go get them — that’s the biggest thing.”
The signature collection will include pieces in women’s, men’s and kid’s sizing. The collection will be released globally on nike.com and SNKRS, and at select retailers in 2025.
Wilson and the Aces kick off their season next week.
Candace Parker always said she’d know when it would be time to retire. That day came Sunday.
The three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist announced on social media that her career was over after 16 seasons.
“The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time,” Parker wrote in an Instagram post. “My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”
Parker, 38, had told The Associated Press in November she wanted to play another season if she could get healthy from a foot injury that kept her off the court last season. But she cautioned that she didn’t want to “cheat the game,” or herself, and expressed the same in announcing her retirement ahead of the Aces’ attempt to win a third title in a row. Parker has had 10 surgeries over her career.
“I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. … I always wanted to walk off the court with no parade or tour, just privately with the ones I love,” she wrote. “What now was to be my last game, I walked off the court with my daughter. I ended the journey just as I started it, with her.”
Parker played her first 13 seasons in the league with the Los Angeles Sparks, establishing her dominance early as a No. 1 pick who won Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season. Parker was the only WNBA player to accomplish that feat, averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists while helping the Sparks to a 10-win improvement in 2008.
Parker earned her second MVP award in 2013 and won her first title in 2016 with the Sparks. She’d go on to win a second title with the Chicago Sky in 2021 and a third with the Las Vegas Aces last season. She’s the only player in league history to win a championship with three different teams.
“The memories Candace Parker created for a generation of women’s basketball fans will remain ingrained in our collective conscience forever, but she has given so much more to the game beyond her accolades and statistics,” The Aces said in a statement. “As a teammate and mentor, a mother and wife, a baller, broadcaster, and businesswoman she has inspired countless young people, both boys and girls, to chase and achieve their dreams.”
Parker played for the late Pat Summitt’s last two national championship teams at Tennessee in 2007 and 2008. She then left with one year of eligibility remaining.
She won Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012 before shockingly being left off the 2016 team.
“I think obviously Candace has had an amazing career. I’m a little bit sad about it because you love going up against her, the legend that she is,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said. “What she has done on and off the court has been amazing for our league. Appreciate all she’s done to help me get to where I am. We’ll definitely miss her this season.”
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello coached Parker overseas in Russia for a few years during the winter.
“She’s a trailblazer. Just a wonderful human being and what she’s done for this sport,” Brondello said. ‘Hopefully it’s celebrated. I’ve got a lot of respect for her. Our kids grew up together when I was coaching in Russia. It’s kind of sad. Everyone knows when it’s the right time.”
Parker began working in broadcasting during her playing career. She has worked as an analyst for the NCAA Tournament with CBS Sports and for NBA TV.
She had surgery on her foot in July 2023 and told the AP it still pained her at the end of last year.
“This offseason hasn’t been fun on a foot that isn’t cooperating,” she wrote in her post Sunday. “My mission in life, like Pat Summitt always said, is to ‘chase people and passions and you will never fail.’ Being a wife & mom still remains priority #1 & I’ve learned that time flies, so I plan to enjoy my family to the fullest!”
Associated Press
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The NBA Playoffs are getting started, and we’ve all been so distracted with college basketball, so let’s catch up.
The top seeds, from first to sixth, in both conferences are set by the regular season. But seeds seven to ten compete in a play-in tournament to determine who takes the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in the official playoff bracket.
In that tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans to claim the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.
The Sacramento Kings sent the Golden State Warriors packing in a revenge game that could mark the end of the Warriors’ dynasty. But it’s a longer road for the No. 10-seeded Kings, who also need to defeat the No. 7-seeded Pelicans in order to take the No. 8 seed in Western Conference. The Pelicans announced on Tuesday that star Zion Williamson will not play Friday due to a strained calf. Can the Kings pull off another goliath-type win?
In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat to claim the No. 7 seed. The Miami Heat will now face the Chicago Bulls for the No. 8 seed.
Playoffs aside, it’s been a busy week for professional basketball as the Team USA roster was announced for the 2024 Summer Olympics. It includes both Steph Curry and LeBron James. After 14 seasons in the NBA, former No. 1 draft pick and six-time All-Star Blake Griffin announced his retirement. And if that wasn’t enough basketball news for you, the NBA issued a lifetime ban to former Mizzou player Jontay Porter for gambling offenses.
The Indiana Fever selected Iowa’s Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Clark joins standout Aaliyah Boston on the Fever, helping the WNBA to shatter previous viewership records for the draft. And if you’re hoping to get a #22 Fever jersey, the odds are not in your favor, as Clark’s jersey is a top seller already.
Also among the star-studded draft class, LSU’s Angel Reese and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso will no longer be enemies on the court. The two women who have played against each other since they were in high school were both drafted by the Chicago Sky.
More news from the draft…WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says she is confident the 12-team league will expand to 16 teams by 2028. The 13th team will be owned and operated by the Golden State Warriors, and the league is aiming for a 14th team by 2026. Markets Engelbert mentioned include Philadelphia, Toronto, Portland, Denver, and Nashville.
Read the last edition of The Scorecard here.
Trisha Garcia-Easto
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College basketball sensation Caitlin Clark will earn less than six figures in her rookie season with the Indiana Fever, reigniting debate over whether professional women athletes in the U.S. are fairly paid.
Clark, this year’s No. 1 draft pick in the WNBA, will have a starting salary of $76,535 and earn roughly $338,000 over the four-year contract she signed with the Fever. The second, third and fourth picks in this year’s draft will also earn $76,535 their first year, according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement. The base annual pay for all four athletes will see only a modest rise over the next few years — $78,066 in 2025, $85,873 in 2026 and $97,582 in 2027.
Lower-ranked WNBA draft picks earn less, according to a wage scale outlined in the players’ agreement with the league. Players are also eligible for bonuses at the end of the season, based on performance. For example, the “Rookie of the Year” award comes with a $5,150 bonus.
The WNBA did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch‘s request for comment on how it sets athlete salaries.
Clark’s earnings are not limited to her WNBA salary. She’s expected to sign sponsorship deals that will likely lead to her earning far more than than the five figures she’ll get for playing basketball. Already, her name image and likeness is valued at $3 million, a figure that’s expected to grow, while she has already done TV commercials for advertisers including Gatorade, State Farm and Nike.
Still, Clark’s base pay pales in comparison to her counterparts in the NBA. Rookie Victor Wembanyama, the first pick in last year’s NBA draft, made more than $12 million for the 2023-24 season, his first year in the NBA, according to Spotrac, a site tracking sports statistics.Her salary is roughly equivalent to that of a first-year or junior New York-based attorney at a national law firm, according to a posting on job site Indeed.
With some online commentators expressing surprise at Clark’s pay, President Biden weighed in Tuesday on the issue of pay disparity in sports.
“Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all. But right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share,” he said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter). “It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.”
To be sure, what female athletes “deserve” is up for debate. The NBA was founded decades ago and generates billions of dollars annually. The WNBA, by contrast, was launched in 1996 and is far smaller, generating an estimated $200 million in revenue annually, according to a report from Just Women’s Sports.
On the issue of compensation for individual players, “There isn’t an endless reservoir of money they get to deal with,” Greg Bouris, a professor sports management at Adelphi University, told CBS MoneyWatch, adding that the WNBA needs to meaningfully grow its revenue in order for player salaries to increase. “It comes down to economics.”
And as big of a star as Clark has been for college basketball, she remains untested in the professional arena, he noted. That’s part of the reason why both the NBA and WNBA issue caps on rookie salaries.
“They are coming in to play against the best basketball players in the world and they have yet to prove themselves,” Bouris said. “Sucess at one level doesn’t guarantee success at the other.”
By the same token, Clark is expected to add considerable sizzle to the league, as she did in helping the women’s NCAA tournament draw a larger TV audience than the men.
“She’s coming in with all of this momentum in earned media coverage for the WNBA, so the league has an opportunity to capitalize on that. She’s having a tremendous economic impact,” Bouris said. “She’s going to raise all boats.”
The Women’s Sports Foundation, an advocacy group for women in sports founded by tennis legend Billie Jean King, has pointed to the relatively low pay in the WNBA as a reason why top players often compete overseas during the U.S. league’s off season to supplement their salaries. That includes WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was jailed in Russia while playing there and who previously noted in an interview that “the whole reason a lot of us go over is the pay gap.”
The WNBA has made strides in promoting pay equity in recent years. While NBA players collectively receive roughly 50% of the league’s revenue, WNBA players previously took home less than 23%. But that figure jumped to 50% under the latest labor deal with the league.
Yet the pay gap in professional basketball and most other sports remains, with only female tennis players achieving a measure of equity. In the NBA, the minimum rookie salary for the 2022-23 season was $953,000, according to Spotrac.
Ketra Armstrong, a professor of sports management at Michigan University said that while she views Clark as underpaid relative to their skills, so are many WNBA athletes.
“It’s a structural issue, and you can’t look at salaries in isolation or compare them to how much the men make because there are stark differences there,” Armstrong told CBS MoneyWatch in noting the enormous revenues the NBA generates, compared with the WNBA.
The upshot: For WNBA players’ salaries to increase, the league will have to land bigger broadcast deals, secure more lucrative corporate sponsorships, and sell more tickets and merchandise. But Armstrong identified the current moment as a potential turning point for the league.
“The Caitlin Clark impact is real. There is an energy and vibrance touching the WNBA in ways it never has before,” she said. “If we can get a groundswell increase in ticket sales for all WNBA teams, more merchandise sales, more media exposure, and more people investing, we’ll start to see movement in revenue.”
The most anticipated WNBA Draft in recent memory has come and gone. Once again, it was a franchise-changing day for the Indiana Fever, who drafted Caitlin Clark. Meanwhile, several teams made meaningful investments in their futures while others fine-tuned in their pursuit of a championship in the near term.
Let’s take a look at how well each team accomplished its goals in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The grades are a little bit higher across the board than last year, but this was a better pool of players. I’m allowing for some optimism.
Nyadiew Puoch (12), Isabel Borlase (20), Matilde Villa (32)
The Dream made three international selections, all of whom are 19 years old, and none of whom project to play in the WNBA during the 2024 season. As such, it’s hard to say if Atlanta addressed any of its needs because by the time these players come over, the roster could look dramatically different. Big picture, Puoch and Borlase were rated as first-round talents by the general managers The Athletic surveyed, so to pick up both with only one first-round pick is good value. But the Dream have a chance to get better right now with Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray rating among the better perimeter duos in the league, and they punted on a chance for immediate improvement, even if this trio of selections makes an impact down the line.
Kamilla Cardoso (3), Angel Reese (7), Brynna Maxwell (13)
On the one hand, I love the players Chicago selected. Cardoso and Reese could be a dominant frontcourt for the foreseeable future, and they complement each other well. Maxwell is an outstanding shooter who made 42.7 percent of her 3-pointers and 91 percent of her foul shots during her five-year college career. She was ninth in the country in points per play (1.17) this past season.
But I can’t lose sight of what the Sky abandoned to move up one spot in the draft. They surrendered a second-round pick in 2025, which will be a deep draft because all of the seniors using their pandemic bonus years have to come out. They gave up on Sika Kone, a promising young player. And, they allowed Minnesota to swap first-round picks with them in 2026 — if the rebuild doesn’t go quickly for Chicago, the front office could come to regret that decision. The Sky did receive the rights to Nikolina Milić, but she’s already 30 years old and isn’t playing this season.
The haul Chicago acquired doesn’t quite make up for the fact that the Sky surrendered valuable assets to get here.
Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso were battling it out a couple weeks ago in the SEC Tournament 🍿
Now, they’re teammates in Chicago. WILD 😳 pic.twitter.com/OlIxiFEGu5
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 16, 2024
Leïla Lacan (10), Taiyanna Jackson (19), Helena Pueyo (22), Abbey Hsu (34)
The Sun’s frontcourt is pretty well spoken for with Alyssa Thomas, Bri Jones and DeWanna Bonner all returning. What the Sun needed was reinforcements in the backcourt, and they took some swings to make that happen. Lacan is a high-ceiling prospect, only 19 and excelling in France. However, the domestic league schedule makes it challenging for French players to come to the WNBA, so it’s unclear when Lacan will debut for the Sun.
However, Connecticut found value later in the draft. Pueyo is a dogged defender who can shoot the ball at a decent clip from 3-point range. Hsu’s size at 5-11 is helpful for the position, and she’s a pretty solid first step. Taiyanna Jackson seems a little duplicative of Olivia Nelson-Ododa, but she was an outstanding defensive center at Kansas and should at least provide some training camp competition.
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Jacy Sheldon (5), Carla Leite (9), Ashley Owusu (33)
Can you tell the Dallas Wings needed guards? Nevertheless, even while honing in on a positional need, the Wings still managed to select players with significant upside. Sheldon is a 3-and-D archetype who excels in transition, making her a natural fit for Dallas, which likes to play up-tempo. Leite turns 20 on Tuesday, and she already shows the ability to run a pro offense while being an individual scoring threat. Even Ashley Owusu has promise. She was the best shooting guard in the country as a sophomore, so the talent is there if she can find a proper workout regimen and regain her motor.
The @DallasWings newest addition to their roster…Jacy Sheldon. 🙌@JacySheldon goes No. 5 in the first round of the @WNBA draft. pic.twitter.com/kiuzUGJ4r0
— Big Ten Women’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) April 16, 2024
Caitlin Clark (1), Celeste Taylor (15), Leilani Correa (27)
Of course, anyone in Indiana’s position would have taken Caitlin Clark, but who cares? The Fever made themselves an attractive destination for Clark, providing her with the motivation to declare from the draft, and did the obvious thing once she declared. If you pick a generational talent, the draft grade is going to be an A.
Beyond Clark, I like the selections of Taylor and Correa. Both are big guards, fitting with Lin Dunn’s philosophy (she drafted Grace Berger last year, after all). Correa can shoot a little, while also getting to the rim frequently, and Taylor is a nasty defender who can make things difficult on Clark in training camp and in practice. Indiana has its tentpoles in place — all of the decisions now should be to optimize Clark and Aliyah Boston. Taylor is someone who can play next to Clark and make her life easier, and Correa is a good flier to take at this point in the draft.
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Dyaisha Fair (16), Kate Martin (18), Elizabeth Kitley (24), Angel Jackson (36)
The Fair pick got most of the hype, considering she is the third-leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball history. However, I simply don’t see the need for another bucket-getter on a team that already has A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray. The Aces need role players who can fill in the gaps around their core four. That’s why their pick of Kate Martin intrigues me. Martin might not be a WNBA-level athlete, so this selection could be moot, but Martin absolutely knows how to amplify star talent. She hits open shots, she cuts hard, she sets good screens, and she plays bigger than she is on defense. Martin might be more skilled than Kierstan Bell, so why couldn’t she take that spot on the Aces’ roster?
Furthermore, getting Kitley at the end of the second round is a heist. Although she can’t play this season as she recovers from an ACL injury, perhaps it’s better for Kitley to be a stash. In that scenario, she can wait out Candace Parker’s eventual retirement to fill that frontcourt hole in the roster. There are concerns about Kitley’s footspeed, but she’s a three-time ACC Player of the Year who consistently figures out a way to produce. If she can expand her range — and this is where being on the same roster as Megan Gustafson could really pay dividends — Kitley has a future in this league.
Cameron Brink (2), Rickea Jackson (4), McKenzie Forbes (28)
This was a home run of a draft for Los Angeles. The Sparks got the national defensive player of the year in Brink, someone whose defensive metrics alone made her a lottery pick. But Brink is also an outstanding playmaker and interior scorer with a burgeoning perimeter game once L.A. lets her stretch her wings. At No. 4, the Sparks selected the second-best scorer in the draft, someone who can score from anywhere on the court and demonstrated the capacity to get her shot off against Team USA in a November exhibition. Brink and Jackson are an enticing forward combination that can scale up if L.A. goes small but also can play with another big, whether that’s Dearica Hamby or someone else the Sparks acquire down the line.
Selecting Forbes in the third round is just good business. USC coach Lindsey Gottlieb has been touting Forbes as a first-round pick all year. Even if she didn’t rate that highly for WNBA teams, she still is a prolific shot-maker who reads the floor well, takes care of the ball and will bring the growing Trojans fan base with her to Crypto.com Arena, only two miles away from where USC plays its home games.
Steph Curry posted this video on his Instagram story, supporting Cameron Brink while watching the WNBA draft coverage. His Mom Sonya is there with the Brink family, & Steph got a shoutout on the broadcast as well. Always respect his support of women’s sports ✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻 #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/ytZGo8SbwB
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) April 16, 2024
Alissa Pili (8), Kiki Jefferson (31)
It almost doesn’t matter who the Lynx took at No. 8 — the fruits of the trade they made with Chicago would have earned them a high grade regardless. However, Minnesota ended up with Pili, one of the most unguardable players in the country. Maybe we don’t know what position Pili will defend, but opponents will have to defend her, and that doesn’t seem pleasant. I feel a lot better about Pili’s WNBA future knowing she is under the tutelage of a seasoned and successful head coach like Cheryl Reeve.
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Marquesha Davis (11), Esmery Martinez (17), Jessika Carter (23), Kaitlyn Davis (35)
Realistically, the Liberty have at most one available roster spot, and the only need they have is a defensive-minded guard. I would have preferred Nika Mühl in this spot because she is a phenomenal defender and also could have learned the point guard position from Courtney Vandersloot as a succession plan. Davis is a better athlete and perhaps a more versatile defender — her steal percentage is astounding — but Mühl is a better shooter and playmaker and covers the point of attack just as well. With a team like New York that is contending right away, I’d prefer a more well-rounded player.
Martinez and Carter are interesting training camp players, both have a physicality that the Liberty didn’t always play with in 2023. New York announced that Kaitlyn Davis will be competing for the 2025 roster, so she appears to be a domestic draft-and-stash, much like fellow USC product Okako Adika, who New York drafted in 2023.
Esmery Martínez, recién elegida en el #WNBADraft por @nyliberty, recibiendo la medalla de plata 🥈 de los Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe #SanSalvador2023.
Esto sucedió hace 10 meses.
¡Una miembro de la selección nacional 🏀🇩🇴 en la @WNBA!pic.twitter.com/JrAsVm6Gzy
— Richard Bazil (@RichardBazil) April 16, 2024
Charisma Osborne (25), Jaz Shelley (29)
The Mercury have roster spots for the taking, and they addressed that by selecting two fifth-year seniors who could realistically contribute as rookies. Osborne was among the 15 invitees to the draft; she has the pedigree of a higher pick and should be ready to defend at the very least. Shelley also gets after it defensively and plays with moxie; she’s always willing to take big shots and shoots a high volume of 3s. Phoenix is always in need of more perimeter defense so long as Diana Taurasi occupies one of the other guard spots, and neither of these rookies will be intimidated by the personalities on the Mercury roster.
Charisma caught up with @sportsiren after she was selected by the Mercury! 🎙️▶️#GoBruins x #ProBruins | @CharismaOsborne x @PhoenixMercury pic.twitter.com/h840Gr0sr8
— UCLA Women’s Basketball (@UCLAWBB) April 16, 2024
Nika Mühl (14), Mackenzie Holmes (26)
Seattle is another team that needs bench contributors, and Mühl might already be the fourth-best guard on the roster. She can chip in as a backup point guard and play next to the other Storm ballhandlers, just as she did with KK Arnold and Paige Bueckers at UConn. After playing in three Final Fours, Mühl shouldn’t be fazed by the pressure of being on a team that wants to win right now. There’s a strong tradition of Huskies excelling in Seattle, so perhaps Mühl is the latest in that line. Holmes already announced that she will undergo surgery to address some lingering injuries and will not play in 2024.
Aaliyah Edwards (6), Kaylynne Truong (21), Nastja Claessens (30)
There isn’t really anything wrong with the Mystics’ draft. They took two players who rate well statistically in Edwards and Truong, but I had hoped a franchise at this point in team-building would have taken a more aggressive approach. Washington has Shakira Austin as a focal point, but it needs another star, and I’m not sure any of the players it selected have the upside of an all-WNBA player. Admittedly, that’s a high bar. But it’s also what’s required of the best teams in the league.
The moment @AaliyahEdwards_ became a member of the @WashMystics 💙 pic.twitter.com/TFKIbkSOdz
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) April 16, 2024
(Photos of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Rickea Jackson: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
The New York Times
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SHE HAS BECOME A SUPERSTAR, BEING COMPARED NOW TO THE LIKES OF MICHAEL JORDAN, SPORTS BUSINESS EXPERTS LIKE PROFESSOR MICHAEL MCCANN OF THE UNH, FRANKLIN PIERCE SCHOOL OF LAW SAY A BIG PART OF THE SHIFT HAS TO DO WITH THE LARGER CHANGES WITHIN THE WORLD OF COLLEGE SPORTS, NAMELY INDIVIDUAL ATHLETES LIKE CLARK CAN NOW MONETIZE THEIR NAME, THEIR IMAGE AND THEIR LIKENESS. MEANING FANS ARE GETTING A LOT MORE OF THEM. SHE STILL WOULD BE VERY FAMOUS IF SHE PLAYED BEFORE FOR THE NCAA, KIND OF RELUCTANTLY ALLOWED PLAYERS TO MAKE MONEY ON NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS IN 2021. BUT I THINK SHE’S NOW IN AN ERA WHERE THE ATHLETE HERSELF OR HIMSELF IS REALLY CELEBRATED IN A WAY THAT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE’VE SEEN IN COLLEGE SPORTS OVER THE YEARS, WHERE IT’S BEEN MORE KIND OF TEAM CENTRIC. AND SO IN TERMS OF WHAT’S NEXT FOR CLARK, WELL, MCCANN SAYS HE BELIEVES THE EXPECTATION IS THAT CLARK IS GOING TO CATAPULT NEXT. THE WNBA TO A LEVEL THAT IT HAS NEVER SEEN. FIRST, OF COURSE, TRY TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. YOU CAN SEE THE WNBA, THE WOMEN’S NCAA FINAL FOUR, STARTING TONIGHT AT SEVEN ON ESPN, AND THEN THE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GOING TO
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are headed to the WNBA. Are they also destined for a pay cut?
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have both decided to forgo their final year of college eligibility and enter the WNBA Draft, though there aren’t multimillion dollar WNBA rookie contracts awaiting them.Clark, Iowa’s record-setting guard, is expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, and rival from LSU should be selected later in the first round. The base salary for the first pick in the WNBA draft is $76,000, unlike the millions in rookie contracts for their NBA brethren.Video above: What Caitlin Clark’s rise to stardom means for the future of women’s sportsClark and Reese became millionaires during their college careers, and despite the WNBA salary range, going pro doesn’t doesn’t mean the collegiate standouts will take a dramatic pay cut — or any pay cut for that matter.The pair had the top two name, image and likeness (NIL) valuations for women’s basketball players and those deals are expected to carry over into their pro careers.Clark’s NIL deals are valued at just over $3 million and Reese at $1.8 million, according to On3.com. Clark’s deals include Nike, Gatorade, State Farm and Buick; Reese, who has built her own brand over the past few years, has a long list of sponsors that includes Reebok, Coach and Sports Illustrated. If Clark is the top pick in the WNBA as expected, she will earn around $76,000 in base salary. The 10th overall selection earns about $70,000, and Reese will get somewhere in between — depending where she is drafted. Both players also could earn hundreds of thousands dollars in league and team marketing deals as well as bonuses for performances on the court — boosting their WNBA earnings to potentially $500,000. The top salaries for WNBA players are much less than the minimum salary of about $1,119,563 for NBA players (excluding those on two-way contracts) for various reasons. The primary one is the difference in profit margins for each league, driven in part by media rights. The NBA’s revenues topped $10 billion for the first time in 2022 and the league has a $24 billion, nine-year television deal. Its next one, set to kick in around 2025, is expected to be worth significantly more. The WNBA makes about $60 million a year in broadcast deals and its season is also half as long as the NBA season. The WNBA does not publicly release its revenue numbers. The WNBA’s new TV deal will begin in 2025 and that contract should be for significantly more money than previous ones. That could result in a huge salary bump for players like Clark and Reese. Right now, the top current base salary is $242,000.If Clark and Reese are able to bring their college fan base with them to the WNBA, it would only boost the league’s TV deal negotiations. All salary increases would have to be negotiated in the next collective bargaining agreement that runs through 2027. The mutual opt-out date is Nov. 1 this year. If either side decides to opt-out, the current CBA would end after the 2025 season.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have both decided to forgo their final year of college eligibility and enter the WNBA Draft, though there aren’t multimillion dollar WNBA rookie contracts awaiting them.
Clark, Iowa’s record-setting guard, is expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, and rival from LSU should be selected later in the first round. The base salary for the first pick in the WNBA draft is $76,000, unlike the millions in rookie contracts for their NBA brethren.
Video above: What Caitlin Clark’s rise to stardom means for the future of women’s sports
Clark and Reese became millionaires during their college careers, and despite the WNBA salary range, going pro doesn’t doesn’t mean the collegiate standouts will take a dramatic pay cut — or any pay cut for that matter.
The pair had the top two name, image and likeness (NIL) valuations for women’s basketball players and those deals are expected to carry over into their pro careers.
Clark’s NIL deals are valued at just over $3 million and Reese at $1.8 million, according to On3.com. Clark’s deals include Nike, Gatorade, State Farm and Buick; Reese, who has built her own brand over the past few years, has a long list of sponsors that includes Reebok, Coach and Sports Illustrated.
If Clark is the top pick in the WNBA as expected, she will earn around $76,000 in base salary. The 10th overall selection earns about $70,000, and Reese will get somewhere in between — depending where she is drafted. Both players also could earn hundreds of thousands dollars in league and team marketing deals as well as bonuses for performances on the court — boosting their WNBA earnings to potentially $500,000.
The top salaries for WNBA players are much less than the minimum salary of about $1,119,563 for NBA players (excluding those on two-way contracts) for various reasons. The primary one is the difference in profit margins for each league, driven in part by media rights. The NBA’s revenues topped $10 billion for the first time in 2022 and the league has a $24 billion, nine-year television deal. Its next one, set to kick in around 2025, is expected to be worth significantly more. The WNBA makes about $60 million a year in broadcast deals and its season is also half as long as the NBA season. The WNBA does not publicly release its revenue numbers.
The WNBA’s new TV deal will begin in 2025 and that contract should be for significantly more money than previous ones. That could result in a huge salary bump for players like Clark and Reese. Right now, the top current base salary is $242,000.
If Clark and Reese are able to bring their college fan base with them to the WNBA, it would only boost the league’s TV deal negotiations.
All salary increases would have to be negotiated in the next collective bargaining agreement that runs through 2027. The mutual opt-out date is Nov. 1 this year. If either side decides to opt-out, the current CBA would end after the 2025 season.
Athletes in the Seattle area are buzzing about the Storm and Iowa breakout star Caitlyn Clark, with young female athletes telling FOX 13 it’s building a positive momentum around the future of women’s sports.
SEATTLE – Young athletes are catching the wave of excitement following the WNBA Draft on Monday night.
Athletes in the Seattle area are buzzing about the Storm and Iowa breakout star Caitlyn Clark, with young female athletes telling FOX 13 it’s building a positive momentum around the future of women’s sports.
The young athletes say the Draft is very inspiring, and they look up to the older players, hoping to incorporate some of the skills that they see into their own games in order to take them to college and possibly the WNBA.
For young basketball players like Clara Stowe and Shayda Cordis, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball teams are the best way to sharpen their skills.
“The last hour and 30 minutes, we do team breakdowns,” said Cordis, a point guard/guard from Lacey.
The club is sponsored by Nike and players must try out to make the elite teams.
“Tonight is training,” said Cordis.
“It starts out with having fun, learning how to find a love for the game,” said Maurice Hines, a coach and trainer.
The club could later provide a stepping stone for college recruitment.
“We are really centered around just building that community, and we spend so much time together. It’s a really close-knit family,” said Stowe, a forward from Issaquah.
The teams typically practice three days a week, focusing on skill development, team dynamics and game strategy.
“These kids really don’t take too much time off. They are always in the gym to be on these teams. You have to be driven, you have to be wanting to be here,” said Hines.
Many are hoping to be the next Caitlyn Clark, who was just drafted to the Indiana Fever.
“I love Caitlyn Clark, she shoots the ball very well,” said Cordis.
“She knows how to execute. She knows how to take really far shots,” said Stowe.
Stowe says Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm also helps her team, inspiring them locally.
“She gives us our shoes, she helps us with a bunch of our jerseys and stuff, she’s really great,” she said.
“The 8th and 7th grade teams are Jewel Loyd’s teams. They are team Loyd. She actually helps out a lot,” said Hines.
Some of the players say they watched the WNBA draft before heading to practice.
“It inspires me to get in the gym every single day and put up plenty of shots,” said Cordis.
The young ladies say they hope to be part of the magic one day themselves.
“My goal is to make it D1,” said Cordis.
“I want to play D1 in college. That’s my goal. I’m trying to get there,” said Stowe.
The coach says the teams will hit the road to play other elite teams across the US this spring and summer. Try-outs generally take place in the fall.
Seattle Storm select Nika Mühl, Mackenzie Holmes in WNBA Draft
WNBA draft: Caitlin Clark picked No.1 overall by Indiana Fever
Seattle Storm schedule: 2024 WNBA regular season, home games, tickets
Diggins-Smith finds a fresh start with the Storm. She’ll get to play with Ogwumike and Loyd
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX 13 Seattle newsletter.
Jennifer.Dowling@fox.com (Jennifer Dowling)
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NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark admitted she was a bit nervous before being chosen with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, even though it was no surprise.
“I dreamed of this moment since I was in second grade, and it’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but more than anything, just trying to soak it in,” Clark said.
The former Iowa star became a household name among basketball fans during her record-breaking college career, and she will now try and help revive the Indiana franchise along with last season’s No. 1 pick, Aliyah Boston, who previously played with Clark on a USA Basketball Under-19 team.
“Obviously going to an organization that has, in my eyes, one of the best post players in the entire world,” Clark said. “My point guard eyes just light up at that. And obviously, Aliyah has been one of my teammates before. I’m excited. I can’t wait.”
The Fever taking Clark had been a foregone conclusion since she announced on Feb. 29 she would turn pro. Nearly 17,000 tickets were claimed to watch the draft at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home to the Fever and the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.
Clark has helped bring millions of fans to the women’s game with her signature shots from the midcourt logo and passing ability. The NCAA’s all-time scoring leader was a big reason why a record 18.9 million viewers tuned in to the national championship game, which Iowa lost to unbeaten South Carolina. The Hawkeyes were also the national runners-up to LSU a year earlier.
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Clark. After the title game, she flew to Los Angeles to receive the John R. Wooden Award and then came to New York for an appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
“I think obviously the course of the last few weeks has been pretty insane in my life, the last two months playing basketball as long as I possibly could in my college career,” Clark said. “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.”
Clark, who wore a white Prada jacket and skirt, hugged her parents and brothers and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder after she was drafted.
The draft was held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in front of 1,000 fans, who bought all the tickets within 15 minutes of them going on sale a few months ago.
Los Angeles chose Stanford’s Cameron Brink at No. 2. She’ll get to stay in California and gives the Sparks a two-way player.
“When they called my name, a huge wave of emotions hit me,” Brink said. “I saw my mom tearing up and my dad and it hit home.”
A prolific scorer, Brink was also the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. The Sparks needed to replace franchise player Nneka Ogwumike, who left for Seattle in free agency. Brink’s godmother, Sonya Curry, is the mother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
“I FaceTimed Steph five minutes before the show started and he said have fun with it,” Brink said. “He can share so much great advice since he’s been through this. Make stuff like this fun as it can be stressed.”
Chicago had the third pick and chose South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso before the Sparks were on the clock again and and selected Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson.
Cardoso had a busy week, helping the Gamecocks win the national championship to complete an undefeated season. She took part in the team’s championship parade on Sunday before traveling to New York.
Dallas took Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon with the fifth pick. Washington drafted Aaliyah Edwards of UConn sixth before Chicago took LSU’s Angel Reese at No. 7, pairing her with Cardoso.
“She’s a great player and I’m a great player. Nobody’s going to get no rebounds on us,” the 6-foot-7 Cardoso said, laughing.
Minnesota, which had swapped picks with Chicago, drafted Alissa Pili of Utah eighth.
A pair of French guards, Carla Leite and Leila Lacan, went next to Dallas and Connecticut, respectively.
New York drafted Ole Miss’ Marquesha Davis at No. 11 and Atlanta closed out the first round by taking Australian Nyadiew Puoch.
THE CHAMPS ARE HERE
Two-time defending champion Las Vegas didn’t have a first-round pick, but made the most of three second-round choices. The Aces chose Syracuse guard Dyaisha Fair, who finished as the third-leading scorer in NCAA Division I history, with the 16th pick. Two picks later, they chose Iowa’s Kate Martin. The team closed out the round drafting Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley, who is recovering from a torn ACL. She’s out for the season and showed up on crutches.
HEADING TO PHOENIX
Charisma Osborne was the last of the 15 players invited to the draft to get chosen, going with the first pick of the third round to Phoenix. Osborne, who played at UCLA, said getting chosen so late didn’t faze her.
“I was nervous the entire night. My feelings didn’t change,” she said. “I heard my name and was so excited. I can’t wait to get to work in Phoenix.”
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Caitlin Clark admitted she was a bit nervous before being chosen with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, even though it was no surprise.
“I dreamed of this moment since I was in second grade, and it’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but more than anything, just trying to soak it in,” Clark said.
The former Iowa star became a household name among basketball fans during her record-breaking college career, and she will now try and help revive the Indiana franchise along with last season’s No. 1 pick, Aliyah Boston.
/ Getty Images
“The organization has one of the best post players in the entire world. My point guard eyes light up with that,” she said.
The Fever taking Clark had been a foregone conclusion since she announced on Feb. 29 she would turn pro. Nearly 17,000 tickets were claimed to watch the draft at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home to the Fever and the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.
Clark has helped bring millions of fans to the women’s game with her signature shots from the midcourt logo and passing ability. The NCAA’s all-time scoring leader was a big reason why a record 18.9 million viewers tuned in to the national championship game, which Iowa lost to unbeaten South Carolina. The Hawkeyes were also the national runners-up to LSU a year earlier.
Clark, who wore a white Prada jacket and skirt, hugged her parents and brothers and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder after she was drafted.
The draft was held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in front of 1,000 fans, who bought all the tickets within 15 minutes of them going on sale a few months ago.
Los Angeles chose Stanford’s Cameron Brink at No. 2. She’ll get to stay in California and will give the Sparks a two-way player. The prolific scorer was also the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. The Sparks needed to replace franchise player Nneka Ogwumike, who left for Seattle in free agency.
“When they called my name, a huge wave of emotions hit me,” Brink said. “I saw my mom tearing up and my dad and it hit home.”
A prolific scorer, Brink was also the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. The Sparks needed to replace franchise player Nneka Ogwumike, who left for Seattle in free agency. Brink’s godmother, Sonya Curry, is the mother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
“I FaceTimed Steph five minutes before the show started and he said have fun with it,” Brink said. “He can share so much great advice since he’s been through this. Make stuff like this fun as it can be stressed.”
Chicago had the third pick and chose South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso before the Sparks were on the clock again and selected Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson.
Cardoso had a busy week, helping the Gamecocks win the national championship to complete an undefeated season. She took part in the team’s championship parade on Sunday before traveling to New York.
/ Getty Images
Dallas took Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon with the fifth pick. Washington drafted Aaliyah Edwards of UConn sixth before Chicago took LSU’s Angel Reese at No. 7, pairing her with Cardoso.
“She’s a great player and I’m a great player. Nobody’s going to get no rebounds on us,” the 6-foot-7 Cardoso said, laughing.
Minnesota, which had swapped picks with Chicago, drafted Alissa Pili of Utah eighth.
Complete coverage of the WNBA draft on CBSSports.com.
Sarah Stier / Getty Images
It’s official: Caitlin Clark will be joining the WNBA this year as a member of the Indiana Fever. As expected, the team picked Clark in the first round of the 2024 WNBA draft, marking the start of her professional basketball career.
Fans have gone crazy for Clark even before her epic 2024 NCAA March Madness championship run, snapping up her official record breaking Nike T-shirt just as fast as they can be made. Now that Fanatics has released the official Caitlin Clark Indiana Fever jersey, most sizes of the first-run batch have already sold out.
But have no fear: More Caitlin Clark jerseys are coming. If you want to secure yours ASAP, tap the button below to head over to Fanatics now and place your pre-order. That way, you’ll be sure to get a jersey just as soon as they’re available again (likely July 2024).
Don’t want to wait? No problem — there’s plenty more gear celebrating No. 22 at Fanatics, including T-shirts and hoodies.
Fanatics
Show your Clark pride all season long (and beyond) with this officially licensed Indiana Fever WNBA jersey. Made from 100% polyester, the authentic unisex jersey features heat-sealed brand and sponsor graphics and a droptail hem with side splits. The double-knit fabric is made from Nike’s Dri-Fit technology that wicks away moisture, keeping you cool and comfortable as the action heats up on the court.
The navy No. 22 Caitlin Clark jersey is available in both adult and youth sizes from XS to 2XL. The adult jersey is $100, while the youth jersey is priced at $90. The jersey is also available in red (the Draft Rebel Edition, $100).
The 2024 WNBA Draft was held on Monday, April 15, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT). The draft is broadcast on ESPN and streams live on ESPN+.
There are 12 WNBA teams, each of whom is participating in the three-round draft. That means a total of 36 athletes, Caitlin Clark included, will begin their professional basketball careers after getting drafted into the league today.
As of this article’s publication, the 2024 WNBA Draft is ongoing. To see the full list of the 2024 WNBA Draft picks (so far), check out the live blog on our sister site CBS Sports.
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College hoops might’ve just ended, but there’s still more action to tune into, and by action, we’re talking about the WNBA draft. Basketball fans are waiting to see where top prospects like Caitlin Clark are headed in the pros. If you’re a hoops follower, you’re likely wondering how to watch the WNBA draft live for free. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to do so, which we’re about to break down for you.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft is an annual draft where WNBA teams select college players and profesional women’s basketball players to add to their rosters. This draft has been going on since 1997, making the 2024 WNBA draft the 29th in the league’s history. This year, it’ll take place on April 15 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York. This will mark the first time since the 2016 WNBA draft where fans will be in attendance.
To be eligible for the WNBA draft, a player must be at least 22 years old, have completed their college eligibility, and have graduated from a four-year college or to be four years removed from high school. The league considers anyone who is slated to graduate from college in the three months following the draft to be a “graduate,” since the draft typically takes place in April, which is before commencement. These requirements have been upheld since at least the 2014 draft. There are also no restrictions on where the players come from around the globe.
Itching to find out where Caitlin Clark and her fellow top prospects land in the pros? Keep reading to learn how to watch the WNBA draft live for free so that you don’t miss any of the big announcements.
The WNBA draft airs on Monday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The WNBA draft airs on ESPN, which is available to stream on services like DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Sling Orange, and Hulu+ With Live TV. DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial, starts at $79.99 per month after the trial ends, and includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, and ESPNU. Fubo offers a seven-day free trial, starts at $79.99 per month after the trial ends, and includes ESPN.
Sling Orange and Hulu+ With Live TV don’t have free trials, however, they are cheaper per month than the other options. Sling Orange costs $20 for your first month, starts at $40 per month after the first month ends, and includes ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3. Hulu+ With Live TV starts at $68.99 per month and includes ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNews.
Direct TV is our best overall pick to watch the WNBA draft for free for its free trial, price, and channel selection. DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial. DirecTV offers four plans: Entertainment, which costs $79.99 per month; Choice, which costs $108.99 per month with the first two months at $83.99 per month; Ultimate, which costs $84.99 per month with the first two months at $94.99 per month; and Premiere, which costs $159.99 per month.. ESPN and ESPN 2 are available on all four plans, while ESPN News and ESPN U are available on Choice, Ultimate, and Premiere only.
As for other difference between the plans, Entertainment includes more than 75 channels, the ability to stream on unlimited devices in your home, unlimited cloud DVR storage, and a special offer on premium channels. Choice, which is the most popular plan, includes more than 105 channels, regional sports networks, and everything included in Entertainment. Ultimate includes more than 140 channels and everything included in Entertainment and Choice. Premiere includes more than 150 channels including premium channels like HBO and starz and everything included in Entertainment, Choice, and Premiere. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch the WNBA draft with DirecTV Stream’s free trial.
Fubo is our best free trial pick to watch the WNBA draft live for free. Fubo offers a seven-day free trial (two days longer than DirecTV Stream) and offers offers two plans: Pro, which costs $79.99 per month; and Elite, which costs $89.99 per month. ESPN is available on all four plans.
As for the difference between the plans, Pro includes 180 channels, 1,000 hours of Cloud DVR, and the ability to watch on up to 10 screens at once. Elite includes everything in Pro, as well as a total of 256 channels and 4K resolution. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch the WNBA draft with Fubo’s free trial.
Sling TV is our best budget pick to watch the WNBA draft live for its price and channel selection. Sling TV offers three plans: Sling Orange for $40 per month; Sling Blue for $45 per month; and Sling Orange + Blue for $60 per month. Sling also has a current deal where subscribers can sign up for 50 percent off their first month, bringing Sling Orange’s price down to $20 for your first month; Sling Blue’s to $22.50 for your first month; and Sling Orange + Blue’s to $30 for your first month. Only Sling Orange and Sling Orange + Blue include ESPN. Both of those plans also include ESPN 2 and ESPN 3.
As for the difference between the plans, Sling Orange includes 32 channels and the ability to stream on one device at a time, while Sling Orange + Blue includes 46 channels and the ability to stream on three devices at the same time. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch the WNBA draft with Sling.
Hulu+ With Live TV is our best upgrade pick to watch the WNBA draft based on its channel selection and its free subscriptions to Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN plus. Hulu+ With Live TV offers four plans: a $68.99 per month plan with access to only live TV; a $69.99 per month plan with free subscriptions to Hulu with ads, Disney Plus with ads, and ESPN Plus with ads; a $74.99 per month plan with free subscriptions to Hulu with ads, Disney Plus with no ads, and ESPN Plus with ads; and a $82.99 per month plan with free subscriptions to Hulu with no ads, Disney Plus with no ads, and ESPN Plus with ads. ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN News are included on all four plans. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch the WNBA draft with Hulu+ Live TV.
Here is the WNBA draft 2024 order for the first round:
First Round
So how does the WNBA draft work? There are three rounds in the WNBA draft and each one includes 12 picks. The top four picks of the first round are determined by the Draft Lottery, which took place in December 2023. The four teams that did not make the playoffs in the 2023-2024 season get to participate in the lottery. This year it’ll be the Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks, and Seattle Storm. The Fever won the lottery for the second time in franchise history, so they get the top pick in this year’s draft. The Sparks, the Mercury, and the Storm follow the Fever in that order.
After the four lottery picks have their turn, teams pick in the inverse order of the standings from the regular season. That means teams at the bottom of the standings from the 2023-2024 season will get to select picks first and the top-ranking teams will go last. One catch is that teams can trade their draft picks with each other, which has the potential to alter the order and number of picks per team. For example, this explains how the Sparks have both the second and fourth draft picks this year.
Caitlin Clark is predicted to find her new home with the Indiana Fever, since the Fever get the first pick and Clark is the presumed first overall draft pick. Indiana got the first selection last season too and went with the No. 1 overall draft pick, Aliyah Boston.
Caitlin Clark
Clark plays college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes and is the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer. She was also a two-time national player of the year while playing for Iowa. The predicted No. 1 draft pick announced on February 29, 2024 that she would enter the 2024 WNBA draft instead of utilizing her fifth season of eligibility in college basketball.
Cameron Brink
Brink plays college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal of the Pac-12 Conference. She won the national championship in her freshman year at Stanford and followed that up with the Pac-12 Player of the Year honors in her sophomore year at Stanford. As a junior, she was awarded the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year, and as a senior, she was named Pac-12 Player of the Year for the second time.
Kamilla Cardoso
Cardoso plays college basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). She previously played for the Syracuse Orange in the 2020-2021 season and then transferred to South Carolina in 2021. She helped the Gamecocks win the national championship in her sophomore year, and the next season, she was named Southeastern Conference Sixth Woman of the Year and second-team All-SEC. On April 7, 2024, Cardoso received the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player in South Carolina’s 2024 national championship win.
Angel Reese
Angel Reese plays college basketball for the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference. She started with the Maryland Terrapins but fractured her right foot in the 2020-2021 season. As a sophomore, however, she was named a third-team All-American. Come junior year, Reese transferred to LSU and was a unanimous first-team All-American selection. She led the Tigers to its first national championship and was named Most Outstanding Player. In her senior year at LSU, she was named SEC Player of the Year and an All-American.
Rickea Jackson
Rickea Jackson plays college basketball for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers of the Southeastern Conference. She started with the Mississippi State Bulldogs as a freshman and earned second-team All-SEC and All-Freshman honors. Jackson transferred to Tennessee for her senior year and was named first-team All-SEC. She played for the Lady Volunteers in her fifth season of eligibility.
Katie Decker-Jacoby
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The WNBA is about to get an influx of exciting young talent.
Some of the stars that helped make this past women’s NCAA Tournament a landmark event will have their basketball dreams realized on Monday night when the 2024 WNBA Draft takes place.
The class is, of course, headlined by Iowa sensation Caitlin Clark, who’s expected to hear her name called first at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. But while Clark is the crown jewel of this year’s draft, she’s far from the only big name making the move from college to the pros.
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, Stanford’s Cameron Brink, LSU’s Angel Reese, UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards and Tennessee’s Rickea Johnson are among the other highly touted prospects expected to come off the board shortly after Clark. And some of those players could wind up on the same team as the Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks each hold multiple picks inside the top 10.
Before the draft gets underway, here’s what to know:
The draft begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday.
The event will air on ESPN.
It will be available to stream on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
The WNBA draft is three rounds long.
There are 12 picks in each round, meaning a total of 36 players will be drafted.
The Indiana Fever hold the No. 1 overall pick for a second straight year. Indiana used the top pick in 2023 on forward Aliyah Boston, who went on to win WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Here’s a full look at this year’s draft order:
First round
1. Indiana Fever
2. Los Angeles Sparks
3. Chicago Sky
4. Los Angeles Sparks
5. Dallas Wings
6. Washington Mystics
7. Chicago Sky
8. Minnesota Lynx
9. Dallas Wings
10. Connecticut Sun
11. New York Liberty
12. Atlanta Dream
Caitlin Clark left a lasting legacy on women’s college basketball, but as she enters the WNBA, how will she transition and make an impact at the next level? Khristina Williams, founder of “Girls Talk Sports TV ,” and Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham weigh in.
Second round
13. Chicago Sky
14. Seattle Storm
15. Indiana Fever
16. Las Vegas Aces
17. New York Liberty
18. Las Vegas Aces
19. Connecticut Sun
20. Atlanta Dream
21. Washington Mystics
22. Connecticut Sun
23. New York Liberty
24. Las Vegas Aces
Third round
25. Phoenix Mercury
26. Seattle Storm
27. Indiana Fever
28. Los Angeles Sparks
29. Phoenix Mercury
30. Washington Mystics
31. Minnesota Lynx
32. Atlanta Dream
33. Dallas Wings
34. Connecticut Sun
35. New York Liberty
36. Las Vegas Aces
Eric Mullin
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WNBA star Brittney Griner is expecting a child with her wife Cherelle.
The US Sun reports the couple is only three months away from welcoming their newborn.
On Saturday, April 3, the pair took to Instagram to announce that they are expecting a bundle of joy. Their due date is only a few months away.
Their shared caption read, “Can’t believe we’re less than three months away from meeting our favorite human being #BabyGrinercomingSoon #July2024.”
This will be Brittney’s third child. She shares twins with her ex-wife and WNBA player, Glory Johnson. They were birthed in 2015. However, the athletes ended their marriage the following year.
The 33-year-old married Cherelle four years later in 2019.
Their supporters were excited to hear the news.
@liljo09 commented under their announcement, “Congrats! Amazing! Mini Griner homie.”
“Congrats ! We pray we are blessed with a little one this year !! Blessings to yu both to a pair of some of the greatest parents to be,” @transmission.detailing added.
@joyannreed wrote, “Such an amazing blessing.”
The Phoenix Mercury is entering her 11th WNBA season. The baller has never played for another team and just signed a contract for another season. This is for good reason. Brittney is predicted to enter the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, per The Sun.
Not only is Griner a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, but she has also been an All-Star eight times. She made a powerful return to the WNBA after she was imprisoned in Russia. Brittney was detained for smuggling drugs from February to December 2022. Less than a gram of hash oil was in her vape cartridge.
After re-entering the women’s league, she averaged 17.5 points and 2.2 assists per game. Additionally, she brought in 6.5 rebounds each match-up.
Looks like things continue to get brighter for Britt. Congrats to the happy couple!
Carmen Jones
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As states across the country continue to revoke access to reproductive rights, the WNBA is taking a clear stand, announcing a new multi-year partnership with the OTC contraception, Opill.
“At the WNBA, we’ve always said that women’s health is society’s health – and so for a long time, many of our players have been engaged with organizations who are doing work in this space. But for us, it’s about bringing more attention, more awareness and more education to those who need it, and our partnership with a brand like Opill will allow us to do that,” says Colie Edison, WNBA Chief Growth Officer, who spoke to PS in an interview.
The union between the two brands will create touch points across the country for access and education, starting with the WNBA Draft where Opill is an associate sponsor. Fans can expect to see Opill activations at the draft, says Edison, in addition to other tentpole events for the league. A college campus tour is also on the horizon where Opill and the WNBA will provide educational programs on contraception.
“With the WNBA, we will highlight the progress being made toward creating a world where we no longer need to ask permission to make personal decisions.”
“We’re so excited for this season as we’re concentrating our social justice work around civic engagement, but also reproductive health advocacy,” Edison tells PS.
At a kickoff event for Opill x WNBA, New York Liberty’s Betnijah Laney expressed just how much the partnership resonated with her.
“It really means a lot because we want to help provide the access to everyone,” Laney told PS in a press-conference-style interview. “I think that we’re starting something very powerful, we’re using both platforms together to hopefully make a change, to bring awareness, to bring education – all those things that are very important being a woman,” Laney went on to say.
The resource has been a long-time coming. “‘The pill’ has been used to manage sexual health for over half a century, but Opill is, for the first time, birth control on your own terms,” Leila Bahbah, US Women’s Health Brand Lead at Perrigo Company, said at the NYC kickoff event. Opill, which is intended for anyone who can get pregnant, doesn’t require a prescription or a doctor’s appointment, and can be purchased online or over the counter at major retailers like CVS and Walgreens for $20 for a one-month supply and $50 for a three-month supply.
Bahbah hopes that in partnering with the WNBA, more people will recognize the kind of autonomy and access they’re hoping to provide. “Opill is now the most effective OTC oral contraceptive option. This means it has enormous potential to reduce those unintended pregnancies,” Bahbah said. “With the WNBA, we will highlight the progress being made toward creating a world where we no longer need to ask permission to make personal decisions.”
Alexis Jones is the senior health editor at POPSUGAR. Her areas of expertise include women’s health, mental health, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, diversity in wellness, and chronic conditions. Prior to joining POPSUGAR, she was the senior editor at Health magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women’s Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.
Alexis jones
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You know the lore behind many men’s basketball greats: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajewon, Allen Iverson, Wilt Chamberlain…I could go on. We talk about shoe deals and the dominance of iconic brands like Nike and Converse thanks to the success of basketball.
I could name almost every team in the men’s National Basketball Association off the top of my head. I know star players like Joel Embiid, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, Steph Curry. I can argue with the best of them that Embiid is a better center than Nikola Jokic…but what about the WNBA?
Women’s basketball has scandalously been a fourth-world sport for close to 30 years. The salaries barely above a livable wage, the game attendance often lackluster at best, the buzz behind jersey sales and star players is minimal. In fact, you rarely see many front-page stories on women basketball professionals.
All it takes is one…as Nike told Michael Jordan: it’s not about the shoe, but who’s wearing the shoe. Over the past few years, it hasn’t been the WNBA that’s drawing attention to women’s basketball…but the NCAA Women’s Basketball League.
“The One” in question is Iowa Hawkeye, Caitlin Clark. During the month of March, NBA devotees ripped their attention away to the NCAA March Madness tournament. And while the men’s teams generally dominate our screens, the women have recently stolen the show.
Caitlin Clark
AP Photo/Abbie Parr
Hailing from Des Moines, Caitlin Clark quickly became one of the most talked about players in college basketball. This past season, the 6-foot guard averaged 32 points per game, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. She’s widely regarded as one of the greatest female basketball players of all time, and she’s only 22 years old.
As a senior with another year of eligibility due to the pandemic, Clark has options. She can continue to eviscerate all competition in her path and continue working towards an NCAA championship…or she can test her luck in the WNBA.
And then there are the multi-million dollar offers from 50 Cent and Barstool’s Dave Portnoy to play in their respective leagues.
Clark is set to become the highest paid female basketball player, and for a good reason. A first team All-American, the recipient of the John Wooden Award, an NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer
among both men and women — I could go on…
She’s making women’s basketball not only
cool, but she’s had an effect similar to the one Taylor Swift had on football. The Caitlin Clark Effect knows no boundaries: the 2023 NCAA Championship game versus Coach Kim Mulkey’s LSU Villainesses was the most-viewed women’s college game in history. Each team that Iowa played saw their highest attendance ever, and Iowa’s home games were seeing equally sold-out successes.
Celebrities are suddenly flying to Iowa just to see Clark play. During April 1’s LSU-Iowa rematch, Jason Sudeikus cheered on Clark. Her fan base includes Travis Scott,
Tom Brady, Billie Jean King, and Ashton Kutcher. A game in Iowa City now resembles the courtside section of Madison Square Garden.
Clark is a joy to watch. A true anomaly of a human whose basketball prowess borderlines on the robotic, it’s that impressive. She makes an NCAA game look like the prime Golden State Warriors…and she’s not alone in women’s college basketball superstardom.
Angel Reese taunting Caitlin Clark in the 2023 NCAA Championship
Tony Gutierrez/AP
It feels like there’s a superstar on every team in the women’s 2024 March Madness tournament. This made the tournament a thrill to watch, because every game has been a head-to-head matchup of some of the hottest young talent heading into the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark’s next matchup are the UConn Huskies, who have their own star in guardPaige Bueckers. Bueckers has garnered a host of awards and accolades throughout her college career: the 2021 Wooden Award recipient, Big East player of the year and freshman of the year, etc.
Bueckers and the Huskies just knocked off USC’s Trojans led by true freshman guard JuJu Watkins. Watkins is yet another thrilling name in the realm of women’s hoops and the face in Nike and AT&T Wireless commercials alongside NBA stars like Joel Embiid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_XCmAHlZ6w
And then there’s the aforementioned “villainesses” at Louisiana State University. Led by power dresser and controversial coach, Kim Mulkey, the LSU women’s basketball team is constantly the talk of the town.
After LSU lambasted Iowa last year in the tournament, all eyes were on the trash-talking, bold LSU Tigers. Guard Angel Reesebacked up her trash talk with a killer performance on the court, and off the court, she embraces the villain role with open arms.
She’s not wrong. The LSU team undoubtedly gets a majority of the heat from the public. It’s not lost on me that it’s often a bunch of grown men trolling the women’s physical appearance on social media and harping on their “unladylike” behavior rather than their commanding presence on the court.
One more point Angel Reese wasn’t wrong about: they’re like The Beatles. There’s fervent support and a cult-like following surrounding women’s college basketball. And as these powerhouses progress in their careers, there’s been a WNBA resurgence. Men are opting to watch 22-year-old Caitlin Clark over 39-year-old LeBron James.
Don’t believe me? The proof is in the numbers. Games featuring Iowa and Caitlin Clark during her final season are reported as the most-viewed women’s college basketball games of all time across platforms like ABC, Fox, and NBC. Clark’s final regular season game – when she broke the scoring record – was the second most-watched game (men or women) of the season.
Tickets for the Iowa-UConn matchup are currently going for over $1000, and the Iowa-LSU matchup on April 1 recorded 12.6 million viewers. That smashes last year’s previous record of 9.9 million…but, before that the record was in 2002, at 5.6 million.
To put that in perspective, they’re not that far behind men’s basketball – the NC State-Duke game peaked at 15.1 million viewers. The game was more viewed than the 2023 World Series and NBA Championship. And although you can’t yet bet on women’s basketball, I would say we aren’t far behind.
It’s a new era for women’s basketball. A new investment. And we can’t wait to see what happens next.
Jai Phillips
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Caitlin Clark will headline the 2024 WNBA Draft, but she is far from the only impact guard who will make her way into the league. As the professional game modernizes, franchises are looking for more playmakers on the perimeter in an effort to improve the pace and spacing of their offenses. Clark is the most prolific and recognizable guard in this group, and she is joined by a deep class — including several international prospects — of shooters, pure points and combo guards who are eager to make their impact at the next level.
The draft is less than three weeks away, taking place April 15 in Brooklyn, N.Y., just eight days after the national championship. In anticipation of the event, eight WNBA general managers shared their candid opinions about the upcoming draft class with The Athletic before the NCAA Tournament. They were granted anonymity to allow them to speak openly. Thursday, we’ll run another installment that includes their unvarnished takes on frontcourt players such as Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese.
GO DEEPER
WNBA Mock Draft: Where will Angel Reese land? Who will be picked after Caitlin Clark?
After the tournament, we’ll release our final mock draft and a GM scout of the potential picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Players are listed in alphabetical order.
• “I think most people will be willing to take on Amoore because she has a clear position of a one. Worst-case scenario, they may be able to turn her into a backup one, and being able to cement that position isn’t anything small in this league. A backup one who can stretch the floor is a nice piece to add to your team. She may be the safest pick of all of (Jacy Sheldon, Jaylyn Sherrod and Hailey Van Lith).”
• “Amoore’s question is size. The question is can she do some of the same things offensively in college that she would need to do in the pros? Because length bothers her on some of her pick-and-rolls. I think she knows how to run a team extremely well.”
• “She’s got that ability that I think the highest-level point guards have, where they know not just who needs the ball, it’s how to manipulate the defense to get them the ball in their best situations to be successful, and the best timing.”
Just @georgia_amoore things 👏#MarchMadness x 🎥 ESPN 2 / @HokiesWBB pic.twitter.com/4p1yw8K8XY
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 22, 2024
• “Borlase has a game that’s suited for Australia. I don’t know if it translates to our game.”
• “I think she does a really good job creating for herself. She can score in some ways that show that she has what I call the international maturity. You can tell that she’s been playing professional basketball. … From what I’ve seen, I think that she could easily be in the first round.”
• “I think the same as the rest of my colleagues: A generational talent that can be the backbone of a franchise. A clear No. 1 pick.”
• “Phenomenal player. Probably one of the most offensively ready guards coming into the draft we’ve seen in quite some time.”
• “I think where she’s gonna be most beneficial for her team, which we all know which team that will be, is her ability to pass and spread the ball and spread the love to some incredible players on her team. I think she will struggle more offensively just because of the strength of the guards that will be defending her, and the speed of those guards is something that she’s not used to seeing in college. But I think where she’ll make the biggest impact is her ability to pass.”
GO DEEPER
What makes Caitlin Clark the best shooter in college basketball? The physics behind her shot
• “Not sure about her speed, quickness, toughness at this level, but I think she’s probably first round.”
• “I really like Leila’s size. She has a pretty complete package. I think she’s really good at pick-and-roll. I think her vision is really good, but she can also create for herself. She’s an attractive prospect. It’s just a little difficult when you don’t quite know about overseas obligations and the national team and all of those kinds of things.”
• “Just 19 years old but demonstrates court awareness to become an elite professional point guard. Tremendous ability to get to the rim, great change of tempo, great ability with the ball in her hands, sees the floor exceptionally well. Decent size, gets to the line a lot for a PG and converts a high percentage of free throws. Needs to continue to improve 3-point shooting.”
• “She’s a combo guard. I think she’s more two-one than one-two. She’s shown she’s good at a lot of things. Can shoot the 3, midrange? She can get to the rim. Physical defender. But I would say of those three, I would probably give the slight edge to Amoore, and then (Jacy) Sheldon right behind her.”
• “Charisma is just a steady, great leader, high basketball IQ, willing to do whatever it takes for the team to be successful. … I think her midrange game is one of the best in the league. Great at the pull-up in the midrange. Needs to consistently shoot 3s, but a great defender.”
• “Charisma has worked really hard on her shot, and there was a lot of growth in that in the first two-thirds of the season. She struggled on it this back third. She’s gonna need to find some consistency. I think she’s gonna have to take the Jackie Young growth step in her shot. She has a nice pull-up, a really nice pull-up, like a second-layer feed off a ball-screen action. She actually can elevate and time her release really well to a contest. That 3-point ability has to become really consistent the way Jackie grew hers.”
• “The ceiling may be higher than Amoore, but there’s also a chance the physicality of our league may be too much for her.”
• “Tremendous athlete. My concern for her is the physicality of the game. Ohio State is a very physical team, but when you look at her body frame, I worry a little bit about her ability to handle the physicality on it. But great vision, passer, shooter.”
• “Could she develop a bit of an Allie Quigley type of game? She has a quick release. She plays in an up-tempo system really well. I think she shows great IQ in the half court off the ball, on the ball. I do find her to be an elite communicator. Her ability to vacillate from the one through three positions so smoothly is special.”
• “She has great discretion in selecting her shots, and then she can really get her whole team involved. And I think they go as she goes. Obviously, one of the most impactful parts of her game is the defensive end. She’s super athletic, and she just has great recognition of when she should go for a risky thing in their press especially, but she’s a really disciplined defender, and I think that that’s gonna be her biggest impact at the next level, at least in the immediate.”
What a way to score her 2000th point! Congrats @JacySheldon ! pic.twitter.com/prWeRXtTt5
— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) March 22, 2024
• “Tremendous defender. She catches my attention every time I watch them with her toughness on defense, her ability to intimidate whoever she’s guarding. Plays hard. She seems to be really smart, and of course, she’s added some offensive skill to her game. I like her toughness.”
• “She’s just not a pro shooter right now. She may be one of those ones that needs to go overseas and work on her offensive game and get a consistent jump shot, because nowadays you can’t be a guard in our league and not be a good shooter. She can attack the basket and do all that, but people learn to cheat off of you if you can’t shoot.”
• “Good outside shooter, decent at getting to the rim, but midrange game is a question. Plays hard — scrappy, competitor, love the fire. Reminds me a little bit of Dana Evans. Probably a more natural two than a one, but her size will require her to mostly play at the one. Still, questions about whether she can be as effective as a one.”
• “She hasn’t shot the ball like people thought she would. I don’t know if it’s good or bad for her that she went to LSU and was forced to play point guard. But she’s had to work on some ballhandling and some passing skills because of what their team needed.”
(Photos of Charisma Osborne, Caitlin Clark and Hailey Van Lith: G Fiume, Harry How and Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
The New York Times
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