For the record, women’s basketball has always been a great product. However, with all of the new fans and spectators the spotlight on women’s basketball is bright. Tonight’s WNBA draft is reminiscent of the 2003 NBA draft that featured LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
The top three draft order tonight is the Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, and Chicago Sky. All are expected to pick up some great players who will instantly make their teams better. The Sparks own two of the top five picks and can pick up some really solid pieces in the middle of their rebuild. Just some of the draftees include Cameron Brink, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Dyaisha Fair, Kamilla Cardoso, and Aaliyah Edwards.
This will be the first year the draft will be done in front of a live audience which should add another level of excitement. With the new NIL deals, these women have become superstars in their own right. Many are already faces of major brands and show just how impactful these women can be when you support them.
The numbers don’t lie. The Iowa-South Carolina championship game was the most watched basketball game since 2019.
The Powerhouse Built by Dawn Staley
Fresh off her second national title and a parade, Dawn Staley is already planning for Team USA in Paris this summer. Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks completed the perfect season showing there is a new dynasty is sports.
This year’s most outstanding player of the tournament Kamilla Cardoso is expected to be drafted in the top three. Both the Sparks and Sky have multiple picks in the top ten tonight. Could she be paired Angel Reese? The two have some bad blood and battled hard this season when facing each other. During the SEC Tournament championship game Cardoso was ejected from the game for fighting.
The Caitlin Clark Effect
There is no denying the level of excitement Caitlin Clark brought to the sport of basketball. She was must watch TV whenever Iowa’s games were nationally televised and became a role model for young athletes, both boys and girls. As a freshman you were lucky if you could find a working livestream of the Hawkeyes’ games.
Clark, likely tonight’s number one overall pick, will join reigning Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston and 2022 number two overall pick NaLyssa Smith on the Indiana Fever. Fever had the second worst home attendance which is sure to change with Clark’s arrival and her immediate impact to the team. She’s not just impacting Indiana’s ticket sales. In fact other teams have announced increases in ticket sales for games against Indiana. The reigning champs even moved their game against the Fever to the bigger T-Mobile Arena due to ticket demand and the season hasn’t even started. The team will have thirty-six out of forty of their regular season games nationally televised.
