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Alexa Philippou
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Michael Voepel
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Michael Voepel
ESPN.com
- Michael Voepel covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports for ESPNW. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984 and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Record-breaking performances. A generation of rookies. Possibly six championship contenders.
It’s been a WNBA summer like no other. And with the increased attention surrounding the league, catalyzed in large part by a standout rookie class headlined by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, fans new and old have witnessed a competitive first half of the season.
The season has also brought a mix of the expected and the unexpected. League followers suspected Clark would make an immediate impact, but fellow rookies Reese, Rickea Jackson and Aaliyah Edwards have been instrumental to their franchises. The Dallas Wings and Atlanta Dream, teams that made the playoffs a year ago, are struggling, as were the Las Vegas Aces before Chelsea Gray returned from injury. The Minnesota Lynx won the Commissioner’s Cup championship. And several standout players, such as Chennedy Carter, who has found the perfect home with the Chicago Sky, are playing the best basketball of their careers.
Now all eyes will turn to Phoenix for the All-Star Game on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC), then across the Atlantic to Paris, where the U.S. national team will look to win its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
As the league prepares for a month-long hiatus, here are 10 things we've learned — about teams and individuals, ceilings and floors — from the first half of the 2024 WNBA season.
The experts were wrong about Reese
The Chicago forward is in the running for the WNBA Rookie of the Year award as the No. 7 pick. Why wasn’t Reese, who leads the WNBA in rebounding and set the league record for consecutive double-doubles, picked higher? Several talent evaluators questioned whether her game would translate well to the WNBA. Some experts seemed to overvalue her weaknesses, such as shooting range, while undervaluing her strengths, such as rebounding, defense and motor. But Reese has fared well in Chicago under first-year coach Teresa Weatherspoon and playing alongside 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso.
Reese ranks second in the WNBA in total rebounds (one rebound behind MVP favorite A'ja Wilson) and rebounds per game (again narrowly behind Wilson, 12.0 to 11.9). Voepel
DiJonai Carrington was the biggest disappointment of his draft class
The 2021 WNBA draft class has underperformed compared to most other classes. It’s difficult to gauge how much the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the 2020 NCAA tournament and cast a shadow over the 2020-21 college season, affected the class. But it’s safe to say that WNBA teams underestimated Carrington, who was picked No. 20 overall by the Connecticut Sun.
Carrington, who played at Stanford and Baylor, was ranked No. 11 in ESPN's final mock draft that year. But even that now seems too low considering how well she's played offensively and defensively this season for the Sun. Of the 19 players selected before her, only five are currently on WNBA rosters. Carrington was our midseason pick for Most Improved Player. Voepel
Sparks and Mystics have entered the Paige Bueckers sweepstakes
It’s never too early to talk about 2025, especially with a player as promising as UConn’s Bueckers waiting in the wings to be selected. Barring some major developments, the Los Angeles Sparks (6-18) and Washington Mystics (6-19) will likely have the best odds of landing the top pick in next spring’s draft, which isn’t entirely surprising considering both teams have been in rebuilding mode.
Remember, a team’s two-year cumulative record is what matters for the lottery, so the Sparks and Mystics would have better odds than the Wings (5-19), who are in last place in the current WNBA standings but finished with the fourth-best record in 2023. The Dream, currently ninth in the standings, traded their first-round pick in the transaction that brought Allisha Gray to Atlanta, and that pick has since ended up in the hands of the Mystics. Philippou
How motivated is Wilson?
No one in the world is playing like A'ja Wilson right now. She may be having one of the best seasons in WNBA history.
In the midst of her spectacular 2024 run, Wilson has cited last year's notable fourth-place MVP voting as part of her motivation (she finished third in the 2023 race, just behind Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas). This time around, Wilson has left no doubt in the first half of the season and appears on track to become just the fourth player in league history to win MVP at least three times. The others: Lauren Jackson, Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie.
Through Tuesday, Wilson has scored at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in 12 games this summer, the most in a season in WNBA history, and her six consecutive games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds are a WNBA regular-season record. Philippou
Carter, Diggins-Smith and Charles find the perfect fit
Guards Chennedy Carter and Skylar Diggins-Smith and center Tina Charles (all former lottery picks) did not play in the WNBA in 2023. And it was unclear whether each of them would find the right setting to return to the league. But this season, they are all helping their new teams. Carter leads the Chicago Sky in scoring, Diggins-Smith tops the Seattle Storm in assists and Charles leads the Atlanta Dream in rebounding. Carter is just 25 years old, while Charles (35) and Diggins-Smith (34 in August) are at a different stage of their careers. But their talents have made an impact across the league this season. Voepel
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The best plays of the week in the WNBA
Check out the best plays from the past week of WNBA action, including Caitlin Clark, Kahleah Copper and more.
Caitlin Clark stands out in the adjustments
In college, defenses have always been geared toward Clark, but in the WNBA, it's on another level. But the Indiana Fever point guard has already adapted to frequent blitzes on blocks, being heavily defended all over the court and handling the constant physical aggression from defenders that WNBA referees tend to let slide. She hasn't been overly intimidated or frustrated despite having to deal with the most scrutiny a player in the league has ever faced.
Sure, Clark is committing a league-high 5.6 turnovers per game, but much of that can be attributed to aggressive playmaking. She's already one of the league's best passers and became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double. Voepel
Sabally makes the difference for Dallas
Satou Sabally led the Dallas Wings to a fourth-place finish in the regular season last season, while earning MVP votes, a first-team All-WNBA nod and the Most Improved Player award. Without Sabally (who has yet to play this season as she recovers from an off-season shoulder injury), the Wings have struggled mightily and find themselves in last place in the standings with a 5-19 record.
It hasn't helped that Dallas has also been without Maddy Siegrist (finger) and Jaelyn Brown (illness), while Natasha Howard (foot) has been sidelined for 12 games. Sabally, who is instrumental on both ends of the floor, is expected to return after the Olympic break. Can she and the Wings put together a run that makes the playoff race more interesting? Philippou
Mercury could be the 2024 version of Sky 2021
The Aces were the highest-seeded team in the playoffs when they won the last two WNBA titles. But in 2021, the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky, with a 16-16 regular-season record, managed to win the championship.
It may not seem like the most likely scenario, but the Phoenix Mercury have the talent and high-octane offense to go far, even if they are 13-12 after Tuesday's road win at Washington. Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud have already won a championship, as has Kahleah Copper, the Chicago team's 2021 Finals MVP.
That said, they'll need to stay healthy — Phoenix's preferred starting lineup has appeared in just 11 games this season as the team struggled into the Olympic break — while also making strides defensively, where they rank in the bottom quarter of the league. Philippou
Minnesota has championship chemistry again
Coaches don't like to compare teams from different eras, but to have the Lynx be compared in personality to Minnesota's dynasty years (six trips to the WNBA Finals in seven seasons from 2011-17) is the ultimate compliment. The original core of Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson, later joined by Sylvia Fowles, played incredibly well together. It's hard for any other team to match that Hall of Fame-caliber group strictly on talent.
But Cheryl Reeve, who has coached the Lynx since 2010, said of the 2024 team led by Napheesa Collier: “Chemistry is always the foundation of a successful team, and that’s present on our team.” Minnesota beat league leader New York for the Commissioner’s Cup title in late June. Voepel
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Sabrina Ionescu scored 30 points in Liberty's win over Sun
Sabrina Ionescu's seventh career game with 30 points lifts Liberty past Sun.
The New York Liberty could be better than last year
Last season, the Liberty were considered a superteam, and they're arguably even better now. Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu have been even more dominant, with Jones looking like an old-time MVP and Ionescu playing at a WNBA-first team level. The revamped bench has been a decisive factor, with Leonie Fiebich defending the rookie team strongly. The defense isn't perfect, but it has a higher ceiling, with Sandy Brondello able to lean on the defensive-minded group of Fiebich, Kayla Thornton and Kennedy Burke. And with a year of playing together, New York's chemistry on both ends is growing game by game.
Whether that will translate into the franchise's first WNBA title remains to be seen, particularly with so many contenders this year and the Aces looking to make a push now that they're in top form. Philippou
