The 2024 WNBA Draft just wrapped up in Brooklyn on Monday night. Everyone agrees that this draft was stacked with talent, and could be one of the best draft classes ever. The first two picks were kind of obvious with Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink, but then the fun began after that. I really think that all 12 teams had a good draft, so I had to get nitpicky in order to find just two winners and two “losers.” And as usual, there were a bunch of players that belong on WNBA rosters that went undrafted.
Let’s take a some at some winners and losers from tonight’s WNBA Draft.
WNBA Draft Winners and Losers
Winners
Indiana Fever
This one is obvious. I mean, they got the definition of a generational talent in Caitlin Clark. Pairing her with last year’s number-one overall pick Aliyah Boston is insane. I’m pretty such that pairing such immensely talented players like Clark and Boston together is illegal in most states. That’s how awesome they are going to be. The Fever have averaged just 8 wins per season since 2016. That’s over now.
They also added Celeste Taylor. The Ohio State guard is elite on the defensive end and was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year when at Duke in 2023.
Seattle Storm
A UConn point guard who wears #10 going to Seattle. The last time we saw that was with Sue Bird, the 4-time champion and future Hall of Famer who played for the Storm for two decades and is one of the best women’s basketball players of all-time. Now enter Nika Mühl. Not only did Muhl break UConn’s all-time assists record (a record that was previously held by Bird), but she was also arguably the best defensive guard in the country this season. While the Storm didn’t have a first-round pick, they still got a first-round talent. This could be the steal of the draft. They also got Mackenzie Holmes in the third round with their only other pick, and it shows that you don’t have to have a lot of draft picks to have a good draft.
Losers
Washington Mystics
Considering how much I love the Aliyah Edwards pick at number six overall it feels weird to write about the Mystics in the “losers” section. But I liked pretty much everyone’s draft and had to find someone to put here, and I just don’t get Washington’s other two picks. In the second round they drafted Gonzaga’s Kaylynne Truong. They passed on two very talented fellow point guards in UCLA’s Charisma Osborne and Arizona’s Helena Pueyo, as well as other players who could’ve helped like Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley. In the third round they selected Nastja Claessens, a 19-year-old from Belgium. She wasn’t one of the 100+ players ranked by ESPN, and might never play in the WNBA. There were much better options available such as Columbia’s Abbey Hsu and Indiana’s Sara Scalia, as well as Jillian Archer of St. John’s. I don’t understand those two picks from the Mystics.
Atlanta Dream
Like I said at the beginning, I had to get really nitpicky to find a “loser” from this draft. So I went with the Mercury. It’s hard because Phoenix’s two picks were both in the third round. Charisma Osborne was a really good pick who can learn from Diana Taurasi. But taking Jaz Shelley after that was a bit questionable to be given that they needed either a center or a bigger wing player.
