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Who will be Caitlin Clark’s biggest competition for WNBA Rookie of the Year honors?
USA TODAY Sports’ Lindsay Schnell explains why Caitlin Clark has plenty of competition when vying for the rookie of the year award.
The 2024 WNBA regular season officially kicks off tonight with four games, and one of the most-anticipated openers is the Indiana Fever and star rookie Caitlin Clark on the road at the Connecticut Sun.
The rest of tonight’s schedule (all time Eastern):
New York Liberty at Washington Mystics, 7 p.m.
Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces, 10 p.m.
Minnesota Lynx at Seattle Storm, 10 p.m.
The Fever-Sun game is being televised by ESPN2 with the Mercury at Aces to follow on the network. The other two games will be aired on ESPN3. Fubo is also streaming the action
USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest news, scores, analysis and more as Caitlin Clark and the Fever take on Alyssa Thomas, the 2023 MVP runner-up, and the Sun. Follow along.
This was not the start that Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark had hoped for.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft picked up two early fouls midway through the first quarter. And she was still looking for her first points. After five minutes of play, Clark was 0-for-3 from the field and missed her only 3-point shot attempt, though she did dish an assist early in the contest.
The Connecticut Sun lead 10-7 at the first TV timeout.
FEVER STARTING LINEUP
- PG Erica Wheeler
- SG Caitlin Clark
- SF Katie Lou Samuelson
- PF NaLyssa Smith
- C Aliyah Boston
SUN STARTING LINEUP
- PG Tyasha Harris
- SG DiJonai Carrington
- SF DeWanna Bonner
- PF Alyssa Thomas
- C Brionna Jones
A year and a half ago, a vast majority of Americans had no idea who she was, an athletic young woman tucked away in a Midwestern university town, known to women’s college basketball fans but otherwise hidden from the gaze of the national media.
Now Caitlin Clark is the most popular athlete in the nation, the driving force behind the greatest days in the history of women’s sports, America’s girl next door all grown up and the personification of everything the country was hoping Title IX might give us.
Read more from Christine Brennan here.
The 2024 WNBA rookie class is one of the most anticipated in history, led by none other than Caitlin Clark, the scoring phenom from Iowa who re-wrote the college record books.
But she’s not the only newcomer expected to make a big impact, and do so immediately. There hasn’t been this sort of attention and excitement around WNBA rookies since 2013, when Brittney Griner, Elena Della Donne and Skylar Diggins-Smith joined the league.
To get you ready for the 2024 WNBA season that tips Tuesday, USA TODAY Sports’ Lindsay Schnell gives a primer on the nine rookies she thinks will have the biggest impact this season.
Read more from Lindsay Schnell here.
How to watch Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun
The Fever at Sun will be televised on ESPN2 with Ryan Ruocco (play-by-play), Rebecca Lobo (analyst), and Holly Rowe (sideline) on the call.
How to stream Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun
Streaming options for Fever at Sun include the ESPN app, ESPN+, Disney+ and Fubo.
The game will also be available on demand on the WNBA’s League Pass upon its conclusion. Fans can get League Pass by downloading the WNBA app.
SIGN UP FOR FUBO: Access to WNBA games during the season
When is Caitlin Clark’s first home game with the Fever?
The Fever’s home opener is Thursday against the New York Liberty.
Arguably one of the most highly-anticipated WNBA seasons in the league’s history has arrived.
The 2024 WNBA season is set to tip off, and it is shaping up to be one of the most exciting times in professional women’s basketball. The game and interest in the league has exploded to new heights, and the incoming draft class has generated more buzz.
College stars such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and more will be making their debuts at the professional level, but there is already plenty of stars they’ll go up against, including New York Liberty forward and 2023 Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart, Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu and Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson. Can the rookies lead their teams to immediate success? Or will star-studded teams continue to shine?
Read more from Lorenzo Reyes and Jordan Mendoza here.
The WNBA on Tuesday released results from its survey of team general managers, who made predictions for the season.
- Here are some of their picks: MVP: A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces. Wilson, who guided Las Vegas to back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023, received 67 percent of the MVP votes. The Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, the 2023 MVP runner-up, was next with 25 percent, and reigning MVP Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty was third with eight percent.
- Best defender: Wilson, a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, received 42 percent of the votes to finish ahead of Thomas, who was second with 25 percent.
- Rookie of the Year: The Fever’s Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, received 92 percent of the votes. The Los Angeles Sparks’ Cameron Brink, the No. 2 overall pick, got the remaining eight percent.
- Most likely to have breakout season: Aliyah Boston of the Indiana Fever. Boston won WNBA Rookie of the Year honors last season.
10 bold predictions for WNBA season
The 28th WNBA season tips off tonight, so it’s time to start thinking about what’s in store for women’s professional basketball the next few months.
There’s never been more excitement around the women’s game. With a star-studded draft class, a team going for its third consecutive championship and a Summer Olympics that will help drum up interest in women’s basketball, the WNBA is headed into its most-anticipated season since the league debuted almost three decades ago.
So what can we expect this summer? For starters, Caitlin Clark will lead the WNBA in assists and make the Olympic team. Read Lindsay Schnell’s bold predictions here.
The WNBA’s newest team, which will join the league from the Bay Area in 2025, now has a name.
The league announced that the new team will be named the Golden State Valkyries and displayed a new logo and colors on its new website. The team’s colors are known as Valkyrie Violet.
The announcement coincides with the start of the WNBA’s 28th season, which tips off tonight at 7 p.m. ET when the New York Liberty take on the Washington Mystics, one of four games on the schedule.
The team said that a Valkyrie originates “from Norse mythology and that the nickname represents” a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike.” Read more from Scooby Axson here.
Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson is the latest athlete to get her own signature shoe, announcing the news Saturday as the two-time defending champions were preparing to play a preseason exhibition against the Puerto Rican national team.
Wilson joins New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu as WNBA players to have a Nike signature shoe in recent years. Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark reportedly signed a deal worth $28 million that would also include her own signature shoe with Nike.
Read more from Scooby Axson here.
The Fever-Sun tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
In what was maybe the most-anticipated preseason game in the 28-year history of the WNBA, Clark and the Fever played in Dallas against the Wings on May 3. Indiana dropped the game, 79-76, but Clark played well in her first-ever WNBA action.
She started the game and played 28 minutes, and finished 6-of-15 from the floor – including 5-of-13 from 3-point range – to score 21 points. She also added three rebounds, two assists and two steals, but committed five turnovers. She made all but one of her five free throw attempts.
As she did throughout her college career at Iowa, Clark flashed her ability to elude defenders in the perimeter with her dribbling and showed off her deep range.
In Indiana’s second preseason game, Clark and the Fever beat the Atlanta Dream, 83-80. Clark played 32 minutes and went 4-of-12 from the field, including two-of-nine from 3-point range, to finish with 12 points. Similar to her first game, Clark committed a game-high six turnovers, but she added eight rebounds and six assists.
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