ESPN
Jun 10, 2024, 01:10 AM ET
The 2024 WNBA season is about a quarter way through a 40-game schedule. And all eyes are on Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and one of the most anticipated rookie classes in league history.
The rookie class is loaded with potential future stars. In addition to Clark, forwards Cameron Brink, the No. 2 draft pick with the Los Angeles Sparks, and Angel Reese, the No. 7 pick to the Chicago Sky, are among the rookies consistently in starting lineups.
How are the top rookies playing? We'll track their performances every time they take the court, so check back every game day.
Last updated: June 9
Rickea Jackson, Los Angeles Sparks
Forward | 6-foot-2 | Game log | Stats
Last time out: Behind strong second and fourth quarters in Los Angeles' 96-92 win on Sunday over Las Vegas, Jackson matched her season high of 16 points and shot 7-for-11, her most field goal attempts in a game so far in her pro career. Her scoring was tied for second most on the team alongside Aari McDonald, while the former Tennessee standout also added 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in 23 minutes.
What we learned: Jackson and the rest of the starters were a step behind in the game's opening minutes, with Las Vegas jumping ahead 14-0 before coach Curt Miller benched them. But Jackson's nine second-quarter points helped the Sparks maintain their momentum as the bench unit erased an initial 15-point deficit. Jackson's first bucket of the game, off an inbounds play, gave Los Angeles its first lead of the night. Then in the fourth quarter with the Aces back up four, Jackson scored seven points in the final four minutes, two baskets off drives to the rim and another where she backed down fellow rookie Kate Martin on the block for the score.
Being able to make such impactful plays down the stretch, against the two-time defending champions, should boost Jackson's confidence. The Sparks won successive games for the first time this season. -- Alexa Philippou
Up next: at Seattle Storm on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET)
Cameron Brink, Los Angeles Sparks
Forward | 6-foot-4 | Game log | Stats
Last time out: Brink finished with a very Brink-esque stat line: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks and 1 assist. Despite picking up her fourth foul toward the end of the third quarter, the No. 2 pick returned to the floor to play the final 5:25 of the game (and didn't get another called on her) as Los Angeles clawed back for the win.
Her two field goal makes -- a turnaround bank shot over A'ja Wilson and a 3-pointer -- reflected the diversity and promise of her game as a versatile, almost positionless big.
What we learned: Brink didn't have the most efficient night (2-for-8 shooting), an adjustment to the pro game basically all rookies are experiencing. But once more, the former Stanford great impressed with her rim protection, managing to block the two-time MVP in Wilson: Brink has 30 blocks in 11 games -- tied for the second fewest to reach the mark in WNBA history -- and she's the shortest player to reach the mark that quickly. The others: Margo Dydek in 1998 (10, 7-foot-2), Brittney Griner in 2013 (11, 6-9), Elena Baranova in 1997 (11, 6-5). Brink is also the first rookie with multiple five-block games since Teaira McCowan had a pair in 2019. -- Philippou
Up next: at Seattle Storm on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET)
Aaliyah Edwards, Washington Mystics
Forward | 6-foot-4 | Game log | Stats
Last time out: The Mystics fell to 0-12 on the season with a 93-88 loss Sunday at New York, though they made things interesting down the stretch and missed a late 3-pointer that would have tied the game. Starting in her fourth consecutive game with Shakira Austin (hip) still sidelined, Edwards flirted with another double-double, finishing with 9 points (4-of-6 shooting), 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. It has been a grueling stretch for Washington, which has played four games in six days.
What we learned: Edwards was more impactful in the first half, where she had six points and five rebounds (she attempted two shots in the final 20 minutes, where frontcourt teammate Myisha Hines-Allen started to get hot). Edwards' scoring plays -- several generated from her strong movement without the ball -- showed off her varied skill set, while her season-high 3 assists (including two to centers Hines-Allen and Stefanie Dolson) demonstrated how good of a passer she is and can develop into.
Edwards, a 74% free throw shooter at UConn, will continue to work on her shooting from the line, where she's hitting 61% of attempts this season. On Sunday, she missed a free throw with 32 seconds left that would have made it a one-possession game. -- Philippou
Up next: at Atlanta Dream on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET, MNMT)
Kamilla Cardoso goes up hard for the bucket
Kamilla Cardoso scores the bucket off a heads-up pass from Dana Evans for Chicago.
Kamilla Cardoso, Chicago Sky
Center | 6-foot-7 | Game log | Stats
Last time out: Bad news for the Sky: center Elizabeth Williams, a 10-year WNBA veteran, suffered a torn meniscus Thursday and is out indefinitely. She had started Chicago's nine previous games. That meant for the first time Saturday, Cardoso joined fellow rookie Angel Reese in the starting lineup. After an 89-80 loss to the Atlanta Dream, the rookies now have a combined 14 games of WNBA experience. The Dream's starting post players, former WNBA MVP Tina Charles and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, have a combed 23 seasons in the league. Talk about stark contrasts. Cardoso missed the first six games of this season with a shoulder injury, making her WNBA debut June 1 at Indiana. Saturday, she had 13 points on 6 of 11 shooting and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes of play. It was the highest point total and most minutes she has played thus far in the WNBA.
What we learned: Cardoso is in full-on learning mode, especially after getting a late start to the season. She said she has paid close attention to how Williams plays. "I saw all the good things she did," Cardoso said. "I tried to go out in the game and apply everything she would normally do." As for facing opponents like Charles, the league's No. 1 pick in 2010 and MVP in 2012, Cardoso said, "They are very experienced. We learn from them, play hard, try to be as aggressive as they are." -- Michael Voepel
Up next: vs. Connecticut Sun on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET)
Angel Reese celebrates homecoming with double-double
Angel Reese returns to the D.C. area and and puts up a big double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals.
Angel Reese, Chicago Sky
Forward | 6-foot-3 | Game log | Stats
Last time out: Reese suddenly found herself as the Sky's most experienced starting post player Saturday, in just the 10th game of her WNBA career. And she held her own. She made 5 of 10 shots for 13 points and had 13 rebounds for the fourth double-double of her young career. She also added 5 steals.
What we learned: Off the bench, the Sky has more experience at forward with Isabelle Harrison (seventh WNBA season), Brianna Turner (sixth) and Michaela Onyenwere (fourth). But at least based on what we saw Saturday, Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon believes the two rookies starting is the best way to go.
Atlanta starting posts Charles and Parker-Tyus had a combined 40 points and 11 rebounds against the Sky. Reese said Charles had some friendly words for her despite being competitors.
"I've been watching Tina for a while," Reese said. "I've always respected her game. I consider her a legend. She told me, 'You're doing a great job' and that she respects me. Even after the game, she was telling me to take my time finishing around the basket.
"That's why I came to the league, to play against these great vets to make me better. It gives me room to see where I am in my game." -- Voepel
Up next: vs. Connecticut Sun on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET)
Caitlin Clark ties career high with 30 points in Fever win
Caitlin Clark compounds the Mystics' misery with seven made 3s in a 30-point showing to give the Fever a win.
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
Guard | 6-foot | Game log | Stats
Last time out: Before 20,333 fans at Capital One Arena -- the largest regular-season crowd at a WNBA game since 1999 -- Clark had the second 30-point game of her 12-game pro career in the Fever's 85-83 win over the Washington Mystics on Friday. The "Caitlin Clark Effect" has been a hot topic of late. But if there's any doubt about it, Friday's huge crowd for a game between teams that are now a combined 3-20 is just more proof of how real it is.
Clark was 7 of 13 from 3-point range and 8 of 15 overall for Indiana. She also had 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals with 8 turnovers. While the turnovers are still a concern, you also have to consider how much else she's doing for the Fever.
"When she gets hot, she can be really dangerous," Indiana coach Christie Sides said in a familiar refrain about Clark. "We need to get her off some screens so she doesn't have to work so hard."
Clark's 7 3-pointers on Friday tied the WNBA rookie record. Crystal Robinson of the New York Liberty also had 7 in a game in her first WNBA season in 1999. Robinson wasn't actually a pro rookie then, though, as she had played two previous seasons in the ABL.
What we learned: Pro athletes aren't generally going to make too much of fatigue, so as not to show any vulnerability but it was very clear that the Fever were about tapped out in their 104-68 loss last Sunday at New York. That ended a stretch of 11 games in the first 20 days of the WNBA season. With just one game this week, they got some rest and practice time, and it helped in their victory Friday.
Admittedly, the Mystics are winless and were playing their second game in as many nights. But the Fever simply looked much sharper with some time off, and that also showed in Clark's shooting.
"I think you could see the exhaustion on our faces, more mentally than probably physically," Clark said of the Fever's taxing stretch to start the season. "Physically, we were exhausted, but mentally it's hard to stay sharp. I'm proud of our group. We certainly battled. -- Voepel
Up next: at Connecticut Sun on Monday (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV)
