WNBA gets jolt of star power for 2024 season
Teams added their final pieces Monday night in the 2024 WNBA draft, paving the way for what is expected to be one of the most – if not the most – highly-anticipated WNBA seasons in the league’s history.
The WNBA held its inaugural season in 1997 and has seen star players come through its teams, but an explosion of interest and enthusiasm in women’s basketball has generated a massive amount of buzz ahead of this season.
The face of that buzz is Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever rookie guard who broke the NCAA all-time scoring record in college basketball in both the women’s and men’s game.
Still, Clark is entering a league loaded with star power, including New York Liberty forward and 2023 Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart, Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson and Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 WNBA season.
When does the WNBA 2024 season start?
The first game of the 2024 WNBA preseason will be Friday, May 3, when the Indiana Fever take on the Dallas Wings at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. After that, there will be preseason games every day through May 11, with the exception of May 6, when there are no games scheduled.
The WNBA regular season begins with a four-game slate Tuesday, May 14. Each team will play 40 games.
When is Caitlin Clark’s WNBA game?
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, the former Iowa Hawkeyes star who was the No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA draft, is scheduled to make her WNBA debut the night that the regular season opens, Tuesday, May 14. The Fever play the Connecticut Sun at 7:30 p.m. ET that evening at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, with the game televised nationally on ESPN2.
When is Angel Reese’s first WNBA game?
Former LSU forward Angel Reese, the Chicago Sky’s No. 7 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA draft, is scheduled to make her WNBA debut Wednesday, May 15, when the Sky travel to face the Wings at 8 p.m. ET at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. That game will be available on WNBA League Pass. first
USA TODAY