Tag: 2024 wnba draft

Angel Reese embraces new WNBA Draft weekend friendships with heartfelt tweet

Angel Reese had the best time with Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink and the 2024 class.

After a whirlwind weekend, Angel Reese reflects on her incredible time with the 2024 WNBA Draft class.

In case you missed it, Reese and her fellow rookies had the time of their lives during WNBA Draft activities. It was quite the weekend, from selfies at the top of the Empire State Building to TikToks with Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink.

Rightfully so, Reese took to X (Formerly Twitter) to reflect on the time the 2024 class spent together. It must have felt amazing for players like Angel, Caitlin, Kamilla and Cameron to hang out in an environment that wasn’t about competition. Everyone was winning on Monday!

WNBA draft shatters previous TV viewing record

Women’s basketball’s growth in recent years is undeniable, and the numbers back it up.

The growth of women’s basketball over the last few years is undeniable.

To know this is the case, all you have to do is turn on a sports talk show for a few minutes. But that growth is perhaps best reflected by the viewership numbers.

After the women’s NCAA tournament shattered a number of records — not just for women’s basketball but basketball games televised on ESPN, in general — it’s no surprise we saw the same effect with the WNBA draft on Monday night.

Featuring stars like Caitlin Clark, [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag], Cameron Brink and more, the 2024 WNBA draft was by far the most watched of all time coming in at just under 2.5 million viewers. For context, the previous draft viewing record was set in 2004 with 601,000 viewers.

The WNBA has seen its fair share of growth as well, but not quite at the level we’ve seen in college. With so many of these stars now matriculating into the league, it will be interesting to see if it has the same effect.

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2024 WNBA draft shattered viewership records to become the most-viewed in history

The WNBA draft was the most-viewed ever and the most-viewed WNBA event on ESPN platforms.

The 2023 WNBA draft broke viewership records, but the 2024 WNBA draft shattered everything we knew and then some. The 2024 draft drew 2.45 million viewers on ESPN Monday night and peaked at 3.09 million. It was the most-viewed WNBA draft ever and the most-viewed WNBA event on ESPN platforms.

These sort of viewership numbers will come in handy when the WNBA negotiates a new media rights deal. The WNBA is bringing in a variety of viewing audiences and the draft was the most-viewed program of the night among people under 35.

The 2024 draft class has some star power in Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 overall pick, LSU’s Angel Reese, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso and many other collegiate and international stars. Clark, Reese and Cardoso were all selected in the first round of the draft and saw big viewership for their games in college. They are used to their star power and know how to use it.

The WNBA players are on the verge of a potential opt out of the current CBA, which could lead to increased salaries and benefits for players. The WNBA’s recent Collective Bargaining Agreement started in 2020 and runs through 2027, but there is an option to opt out of the agreement earlier. WNBA and the Players Association each have the option, exercisable by providing written notice on or before Nov. 1, 2024, to terminate the CBA effective on Oct. 31, 2025, or, if later, on the day following the final playoff game of the 2025 season.

If the players were to exercise the option, the first things they would likely bargain for would be increased salaries and charter flights. After this season, things will be shaken up one way or another, either with the players opting out of the CBA, a new media rights deal that means increased revenue, or all of the above. The future is bright for the W and women’s basketball.

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Angel Reese on why she left LSU, declared for WNBA draft

Angel Reese shed some light on her choice to declare for the WNBA draft.

Despite having one year of eligibility remaining, LSU women’s basketball star [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] elected to declare for the WNBA draft.

The Chicago Sky selected Reese with the No. 7 overall pick on Monday night. Following the draft, Reese shed light on her choice to turn pro.

“I didn’t know what I was gonna do. Obviously, coming back would have been amazing for me. I wanted more for myself. I wanted to start over,” Reese said.

Reese was honored at LSU’s senior day but waited until the season concluded in the Elite Eight against Iowa to make her draft declaration official.

For Reese, it was about getting to face the best in the world night after night.

“I feel like I had been at a high since the national championship. I wanna hit rock bottom. I wanna be a rookie again,” Reese said.

Reese was dominant at LSU, averaging 20.9 points and 14.4 rebounds per game in her time as a Tiger. She led the SEC in total points the last two years and ranks 16th all-time on the NCAA’s career rebounds list.

The competition will get tougher, but Reese is ready to embrace it.

“This league is really competitive and I’m a competitive player,” Reese said.

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Caitlin Clark’s casual photobomb of an Angel Reese and Cameron Brink WNBA Draft TikTok was so funny

This was funny!

Sometimes, Caitlin Clark doesn’t have to do anything to get a reaction.

That was the case on Monday, as Angel Reese put together a TikTok video with fellow WNBA Draft pick Cameron Brink in which they went from their orange hoodies during the day of the draft to their beautiful fits for the night, all to the tune of a sped-up Barbie Girl by Aqua.

So what did Clark have to do with it? She’s just chilling in the background on her phone. It’s a photobomb without being a photobomb, but fans had a laugh over it either way on social media:

@angelreese10

THE BARBS @cam

♬ barbie girl sped up – ★

 

Photos of LSU’s Angel Reese at 2024 WNBA draft

Angel Reese was selected with the seventh overall pick by the Chicago Sky in Monday night’s draft.

Former LSU superstar forward [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] is moving on to the professional ranks, and she learned where she’s heading on Monday.

Reese was selected seventh overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2024 WNBA draft as she becomes the sixth LSU player to go in the top 10. She’s also the highest-drafted Tigers player since [autotag]Sylvia Fowles[/autotag] went second overall in 2008.

The move will also pair Reese up with her former SEC foe in South Carolina’s [autotag]Kamilla Cardoso[/autotag], who the Sky took third overall. Now, the team has a formidable frontcourt duo.

Here are the photos of Reese at the WNBA draft this week.

Caitlin Clark got the coolest surprise after being drafted with a message from Luke Combs

This was a big night for Caitlin Clark and Luke Combs fans.

Caitlin Clark finally got her chance to go pro on Monday night as she was finally picked first-overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft to the Indiana Fever.

Right after that life-changing moment, Clark got a really neat surprise as her favorite music artist, country singer Luke Combs, wished her well after being drafted by Indiana.

We’re sure that Clark was stunned by such an awesome note of encouragement from someone whose music she loves, as this has to be one of the cool perks of being a sports superstar on such a monumental night.

Maybe Combs will invite Clark to a concert sometime soon?

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Angel Reese gave a very insightful answer for why she chose WNBA over another year at LSU

Angel Reese gave an incredibly resonant answer about why she chose to declare for the WNBA.

Former LSU women’s basketball superstar Angel Reese finally started her professional career on Monday night in New York City.

Reese joined the Chicago Sky as the 2024 WNBA’s seventh-overall pick, and she gave an incredibly resonant answer to why she decided to go pro instead of returning to Baton Rouge for another season.

“I want to hit rock bottom,” Reese told reporters after being drafted, per For the Win’s Meghan Hall. “I want to be a rookie again…I want to grow.”

The wisdom to prioritize your growth over your comfort is what makes professional athletes great, and it sure sounds like Reese is entering the WNBA with the perfect mindset as she joins the Sky.

Reese joining Cardoso is an exciting one-two punch for Chicago, as they are two of the most prolific players in women’s college basketball this past season.

It will be exciting to watch Reese adapt to the professional level and see just how high her ceiling is in the WNBA.

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Kamilla Cardoso says nobody will be able to rebound on her and new Chicago Sky teammate Angel Reese

Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso were once competitors, but now the top-10 picks are teammates in Chicago.

Once fears competitors in the SEC, LSU’s [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso are now teaming up.

Both were selected by the Chicago Sky in the top 10 of the 2024 WNBA draft. Cardoso went third, while Reese went a few picks later at No. 7.

Those moves will shore up the frontcourt considerably for Chicago, which now has a pair of very tall trees in 6-foot-3 Reese and 6-foot-7 Cardoso.

Asked about Reese’s selection, Cardoso had just one thing to say.

“Nobody’s going to get no rebounds on us,” she said with a laugh.

Cardoso also said that Reese is a “great player.”

Cardoso and Reese were both members of the First Team All-SEC this season and are the last two Most Outstanding Players from the women’s NCAA tournament.

After competing against each other for the last two years, they will now come together to try to bring Chicago its second WNBA championship.

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Kamilla Cardoso had the perfect response to Angel Reese joining her on the Chicago Sky in the WNBA

Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese playing together in Chicago is going to be fantastic.

Longtime opponents Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese are set to join each other in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky.

Cardoso went third-overall in Monday night’s 2024 WNBA Draft to Chicago, as Reese went seventh-overall to the same team.

The moves set up two of the biggest stars in college basketball this past season to play with each other for the first time, and Cardoso gave a fantastic answer for what life will be like for opponents with the two on the same team.

“Nobody is going to get any rebounds on us,” Cardoso quipped during her press availability after being drafted, per For the Win’s Meghan Hall.

Hey, that’s the kind of confidence you have to love if you’re a Chicago fan, as having Cardoso and Reese on your roster has to be exciting after watching these two dominate in the women’s NCAA tournament this year.

We’ll see how these two do on the court once the upcoming WNBA season finally gets underway this summer.

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