The 2024 WNBA draft is set for Monday, April 15. Over 100 reporters, including Black-owned media, were on Thursday’s two-hour pre-draft Zoom call.
The MSR asked ESPN analysts Andraya Carter and Rebecca Lobo their expert opinions on Monday’s draft—is it just merely a single-star event or a draft with many notable players eligible for selection by WNBA teams?
“Certainly, we have a star coming into this draft,” noted Lobo on Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, the presumptive top overall pick. “But of course, there are some other players that people are really excited about, thinking they could be long-term pros and potential long-term All-Stars in this league.” Lobo pointed out Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson, South Carolina’s Kamila Cardoso, and Aaliyah Edwards of UConn, among others.
“The upper tier [of the draft] a little bit more of a bigs draft … and a little bit thinner when you’re looking at really impactful guards 1 through 8,” Lobo continued.
Minnesota is expected to pick seventh. Several mock drafts have LSU’s Angel Reese going to the Lynx with one of their two 2024 picks.
“Spending time watching Angel in practice, Angel is a thinker,” noted Carter on the 6-3 forward. “She likes to think the game, she likes to learn the game. I actually think she would do really well learning from veterans and listening and doing whatever the team needed.”
Carter also likes Reese’s “rebounding and relentless energy, and playing with that spark,” added the analyst.
“Minnesota is a team that could use a stretch-4,” said Lobo. “Will there be a stretch-4 available at their pick? I don’t know, but it’s also a team that has done a pretty good job of solidifying their roster with free agency.”
Lobo also noted that Minnesota may use their first pick and go with an international player “that perhaps won’t come over and play this year,” she stressed.
Hoopfeed’s Cheryl Coward asked if the college transfer portal has affected the draft and furthered an influx of young foreign players who didn’t play U.S. college ball but are now eligible for the draft.
“I don’t know that there’s a correlation between the transfer portal and anything that we’re seeing in terms of international players,” replied Lobo. “More than the transfer portal, the COVID year has had a really big impact … a lot more impactful on the draft than the portal.”
For the first time since 2016, Monday’s W draft will have fans in attendance—ESPN will broadcast the event live from the Brooklyn (NY) Academy of Music, beginning at 6 p.m. CDT/7 p.m. EDT.
On Thursday’s call, ESPN Production Vice President Sara Gaiero told reporters, “We’re thrilled with the coverage and production team, and announce teams that we have in place for Monday night. We’re excited that there will be fans in the stands and in the theater to participate in all of the night’s festivities.”
“For people watching at home to see and hear a crowd and fans and people there, I think will be really exciting,” concluded Carter.