The year 1 marked a milestone for the WNBA rookie class in 2024. What will their second season bring?
In part due to the extended regular season (the league adopted a 40-game schedule in 2023), All-Star rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese set rookie records for points (Clark), rebounds (Reese), and assists (Clark). Both Clark’s assist average and Reese’s rebound average were also the highest for first-year players in the WNBA, and in Reese’s case, a WNBA record regardless of experience.
In addition to Clark and Reese, the 2024 draft produced four other players who averaged at least seven points per game last season: the Los Angeles Sparks duo of Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, Kamilla Cardoso of the Chicago Sky, Reese’s teammate, and Aaliyah Edwards of the Washington Mystics.
With a year of WNBA experience and a full offseason behind them, plus additional help from veterans for several of last year’s top rookies, let’s see how we can expect these players to grow and improve on the weaknesses of their game during the 2025 campaign, which begins on Friday.
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More weapons for Clark
After being named Rookie of the Year, earning All-WNBA first team honors, and leading the Indiana Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, her team became a favorite destination in free agency. Indiana bolstered its roster with two of the top players who switched teams, six-time All-Star DeWanna Bonner and 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard.
With these additions, Clark begins the season as the favorite for MVP on ESPN BET, ahead of three-time MVP A’ja Wilson and 2024 MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier. If Clark were to win MVP, she would be the least experienced winner since Candace Parker in her rookie season in 2008.
It took Wilson and Breanna Stewart, who have won five of the last seven MVP awards, until their third year in the league to reach that level. And neither had to defeat a winner in her prime as established as Wilson. The year before Stewart first won in 2018, Sylvia Fowles won her only MVP at age 31. Elena Delle Donne, the MVP the year before Wilson first won in 2020, was unable to participate during that “wubble” season, with its neutral site setting, due to medical issues.
Realistically, I would consider both Wilson and Collier to be more likely to win the MVP, but Clark’s status as the favorite is indicative of the expectations for her second season in the WNBA. To some extent, Clark’s monstrous performance in the last 20 games of her first year (22.3 points, 10.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds per game) could be difficult to maintain, for good reason.
Because the Fever added two scoring threats in Bonner (15.0 PPG last season) and Howard (17.6 PPG) to their starting five, in addition to sixth player Sophie Cunningham (8.4 PPG in 2024 but double figures in the previous two seasons), there will be fewer plays available. According to my projected rotation for Indiana, the players’ usage rates will need to decrease by an average of 3% from what we would otherwise expect.
Although that change might not be distributed equitably, the Fever surely want to take some of the load off Clark, who ranked second in the WNBA in total minutes as a rookie (1,416), behind only Arike Ogunbowale. On the other hand, that could produce better efficiency for Clark. She shot 39% on 3-pointers after receiving the ball last season, according to GeniusIQ tracking, compared to 32.5% on pull-up attempts. Clark took more than twice as many pull-up 3-pointers (231, easily the most in the league) as catch-and-shoot ones (114). Balancing that ratio could help Clark improve in an area that was already a strength.
Clark’s biggest leap could be in the playoffs. As the No. 6 seed, Indiana was swept by the No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun, failing to secure a home game last season. With Bonner and Howard, the Fever are now favored to obtain home-court advantage in the first round and win a playoff series for the first time since reaching the 2015 WNBA Finals. Clark has always shined on the biggest stages and now has a team capable of taking her there as a professional.
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High Expectations for Reese
Over the past year, Reese has stood out due to low expectations for her individually and for her teams. After falling to the 7th pick in the WNBA draft, Reese joined a Sky team that was expected to be among the worst in the league after trading All-Star Kahleah Copper. Fueled by Reese’s All-Star debut, Chicago remained in the hunt for a playoff spot until the final week of the season.
That paled in comparison to the surprise that Reese’s Rose BC team gave in Unrivaled this spring. Ranked last in my preseason projections, which were based on WNBA play and not the 3-on-3 format used by Unrivaled, Rose went 8-6 to finish second in the standings and won the inaugural Unrivaled championship. Although Reese was unable to compete in the playoffs due to a hand injury, she won the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Now, Reese can expect to lead the Sky back to the playoffs after a two-year absence. Having added veteran guards Ariel Atkins and Courtney Vandersloot this offseason, Chicago has received 50-50 odds of finishing in the top eight on ESPN BET. With Atkins and Vandersloot, in addition to newcomers Rebecca Allen and Kia Nurse, the Sky will put a more modern floor spacing around Reese and Cardoso in the frontcourt after attempting just 14.9 three-pointers per game last season, more than three fewer than any other WNBA team.
In particular, Vandersloot’s playmaking ability should benefit Reese by setting her up for more easy finishes. Reese converted 44% of her potential assist opportunities last season, according to GeniusIQ. On self-generated shots without an assist opportunity, Reese shot just 35%, producing the lowest effective field goal percentage for any player with at least 100 attempts, according to GeniusIQ.
Kamilla Cardoso averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks last season as a rookie.
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Improved spacing will also help give Cardoso more room to operate in the post. According to GeniusIQ, Cardoso’s 11.2 post-ups per 100 possessions as a rookie ranked third among regular WNBA players, behind Brittney Griner and Tina Charles. Cardoso was productive in two preseason games against the Minnesota Lynx, combining for 23 points, 16 rebounds, and five blocks in 42 minutes of action.
The only drawback for Reese is that an improved Sky offense could mean fewer rebounding opportunities after she joined Yolanda Griffith as the second player in league history to average at least five offensive rebounds per game last season. That’s a trade Reese would surely accept.
Part of the 2024 WNBA All-Rookie team, Rickea Jackson averaged 13.4 points and 3.9 assists last season.
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Plum joins Jackson, Brink
Like Chicago and Indiana, Los Angeles was aggressive in free agency, trading the No. 2 draft pick as part of a three-team deal that brought Kelsey Plum to the Sparks via a sign-and-trade deal. That could mean a smaller role on offense for Jackson, who finished third among rookies with 13.4 PPG.
However, Jackson is the preseason favorite for Most Improved Player on ESPN BET, with two other 2024 draft picks (Edwards and Cardoso) in the top five. That would mark a change from recent precedent. Jonquel Jones in 2017 was the last second-year player to be named Most Improved Player, although Jones was the third second-year student to win in a four-year span at the time.
Los Angeles adds Plum to a team that returns six of its seven leading scorers, with only Lexie Brown missing (traded to the Seattle Storm). The Sparks could also get full seasons from Odyssey Sims, a late-season addition, and Azura Stevens, who missed half of 2024 due to left arm surgery. Los Angeles also hopes Brink will return around the one-year anniversary of the left ACL tear she suffered on June 18. The No. 2 pick last year, Brink got off to a slow start offensively, shooting 40% from the field. But her size made the 6-foot-4 Brink one of the league’s best rim protectors from day one. Brink blocked 9% of opponents’ 2-point attempts, by far the most in the league, with no one else even reaching 7%. Having her back on the court should help the Sparks improve a defense that ranked 10th per possession. With Plum providing another ball-handling option, Jackson’s development as a shooter could be a focus in year two. Jackson made 35% of her 3-pointers as a rookie, up from 31% for her college career and 34% in her final year at Tennessee. If Jackson can maintain or improve that shooting, the Los Angeles offense could be difficult to stop.
Aaliyah Edwards averaged 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds last season, shooting 49.0% from the field.
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Edwards, part of the youth movement
Unlike the other teams in the 2024 lottery, the Mystics did not reinforce themselves this offseason. Washington went in the other direction, trading Atkins to Chicago and veteran Karlie Samuelson to the Lynx. Surprisingly, Edwards already has the fifth-longest tenure of any Mystics player.
The offseason roster turnover has left Washington with a glut of players in the frontcourt. The Mystics have two starting-caliber centers in Shakira Austin and Stefanie Dolson, who teamed up in the starting lineup when Austin was healthy last season, along with consecutive first-round picks at power forward in Edwards and rookie Kiki Iriafen. Emily Engstler and Sika Kone, who played well at the end of last season, are also in the mix.
Unfortunately, that depth has already been tested by injuries. Austin is day-to-day with a right leg injury, while Edwards has been out since the beginning of May due to a lower back contusion. The Mystics announced that Edwards would be reevaluated in two weeks, casting doubt on her availability for the season opener.
Assuming Edwards returns soon, we’ll see if she can translate the skills that led her to an improbable run to the Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament finals. Edwards defeated two No. 1 seeds, Stewart and Ogunbowale, in the tournament, as well as All-Star Allisha Gray. Edwards also shot 56% in Unrivaled games. Although her 49% shooting was second in the WNBA last season among rookies behind Cardoso, Edwards needs to shoot a high percentage to be efficient because she doesn’t shoot threes (0 for 7 last season) and rarely gets to the free throw line.
