The 2024 WNBA regular season ended yesterday evening and it was a truly historic for this year’s WNBA draft class. Caitlin Clark, the #1 overall WNBA draft pick for the Indiana Fever brought in new fans, a rise in media interest and helped the Washington Mystics set a WNBA record for attendance with 20,711 fans in attendance at Capitol One Arena as the Indiana Fever finished their regular season on the road in Washington, DC. Angel Reese, the 7th overall pick for the Chicago Sky helped increase interest as well and was able to sign a variety of major endorsement deals. The sixth overall pick, Aaliyah Edwards of the Washington Mystics represented Team Canada and fellow rookie, Julie Vanloo represented Team Belgium at this year’s Paris Summer Olympic Games.
There were so many incredible rookies who shined all season long and so, therefore who belongs on the All-Rookie Team? We already know that Caitlin Clark will most likely win Rookie of the Year Award when Angel Reese went out with a season ending wrist injury and Clark set the record for most assists in a single season.
It is now time to recap the twelfth week of WNBA Rookies Watch and the final one for this year’s WNBA season. You can read the previous week here.
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WNBA Rookies Watch – Who should be on the WNBA All-Rookie Team?
As mentioned previously many times during this season’s WNBA Rookies Watch blog posts, it was a historic draft class filled with so many incredible WNBA rookies. This is the second season of WNBA Rookies Watch, as I started writing about rookies last year when Aliyah Boston entered the WNBA. You can read last season’s final WNBA Rookies Watch post here. There were so many incredible rookies, so who should be on this year’s WNBA All-Rookie Team? I listed my picks below and a brief explanation of why they should be on the team as well as their final regular season stats.
This year’s statistics were all courtesy of Her Hoop Stats. For those who are unaware and for new WNBA fans, Her Hoop Stats is an incredible website filled with advanced statistics for both women’s college basketball and WNBA and has incredible, up to date salary cap information and a great newsletter. If you like the website, you should subscribe and enjoy viewing no ads! Here’s the link for the subscription options. https://herhoopstats.com/accounts/signup_pay/
Throughout the history of the WNBA, there have been only 5 WNBA rookies who make the WNBA All-Rookie Team. It is significantly different than making the All-WNBA First or Second Team in which 10 of the best WNBA players make the teams.
2024 WNBA All-Rookie Team
- Caitlin Clark, PG – Indiana Fever
Final regular season statistics: 19.2 points per game, 8.4 assists per game, 5.7 rebounds per game
It was an incredible rookie season for Caitlin Clark. She started and played in all 40 WNBA games, she averaged 35.4 minutes per game which was the second highest in the league, she finished seventh overall in points per game and was the league leader in assists per game. She, however struggled with turnovers as she averaged 5.6 turnovers per game. She finished in the top 5 in total points with 769 and finished first overall in both three-pointers attempted at 355 and made 122. She had such a strong rookie season that she could potentially make a spot on the All-WNBA teams. She helped the Indiana Fever clinch the sixth overall seed and make the playoffs for the first time in eight years. She helped the WNBA increase TV ratings and bring in both new and casual WNBA fans. That’s not easy to do for rookies.
2. Angel Reese, SF – Chicago Sky
Final regular season statistics: 13.6 points per game, 13.1 rebounds per game
Angel Reese had an wonderful rookie season. So much so, that there was a sense of rivalry among her and Clark and she would have been competing for a shot of the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award, but as mentioned above, ended her season early with a wrist injury. She started and played in 34 WNBA games and averaged 32.5 minutes per game. She initially, set a record for most rebounds in a single season as she finished with a total of 446 rebounds, but A’ja Wilson broke her record a few games later. She helped the Chicago Sky to compete for the eighth and final WNBA playoff spot, but unfortunately, due to injuries to multiple players, they were eliminated from playoff contention as they finished the season in tenth place.
3. Rickea Jackson, SF – Los Angeles Sparks
Final regular season statistics: 13.4 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game
Rickea Jackson was drafted fourth overall to the Los Angeles Sparks and it wasn’t an easy task as the franchise is still rebuilding and hoping to become future WNBA playoff contenders after they drafted Cameron Brink second overall as well, but Jackson played to the best of her abilities. She played in all 40 WNBA games and started in 35. She averaged 28.8 minutes per game and finished with a total of 536 points and finished second in Sparks franchise record for most points by a rookie. Candace Parker holds the record for most points scored by a rookie with 610. That is impressive. It also wasn’t easy for Jackson as Cameron Brink tore her ACL in her left knee early in the WNBA season and was out for the season. The Sparks finished the season with the worst record in the WNBA and will have the best lottery odds of the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
4. Kamilla Cardoso, C – Chicago Sky
Final regular season statistics: 9.8 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, 1.5 blocks per game
Kamilla Cardoso was drafted third overall to the Chicago Sky and did not disappoint. She played in 32 WNBA games and started 29. She shot 52.1% from mid-range which was tenth overall. She averaged 27.4 minutes per game and had 7 double-doubles. She is well-known for her defensive abilities and she did not disappoint. She finished the season with 254 total rebounds, which was 14th overall and with 47 blocks, which was eighth overall. Unfortunately, she also dealt with a shoulder injury which kept her out for various games this season and impacted the Sky, who finished out of playoff contention and in tenth place overall.
5. Aaliyah Edwards, C – Washington Mystics
Final regular season statistics: 7.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game
She may not receive the type of media coverage that Clark, Reese, Cardoso or Jackson, but Aaliyah Edwards had a wonderful rookie season. She played in 34 WNBA games and started in 17. She averaged 21.8 minutes per game. Like Cardoso, Edwards is known for her defensive abilities and rebounding capabilities as she finished with 191, which is 25th overall and 27 blocks, which is 17th overall. She did not play in the final regular season games, as she dealt with a right ankle injury. Unfortunately, the Mystics did fight for the eighth and final playoff spot, but the Atlanta Dream took it from them with their final regular season road win over the New York Liberty. As mentioned above, she also represented Team Canada at this year’s Summer Olympics and is a future Canadian WNBA basketball star. She deserves the fifth and final WNBA All-Rookie spot as she played to the best of her abilities and helped the Mystics when she was given the opportunity to play.
Alternate: Julie Vanloo, PG – Washington Mystics
Final regular season statistics: 7.4 points per game, 4.3 assists per game
She is the oldest WNBA rookie this season at the age of 31, but Julie Vanloo was terrific in her rookie season. She averaged 23.2 minutes per game and finished the season with a total of 173 assists, which is ninth overall. She played in all 40 WNBA games and started 34. Just in case voters aren’t convinced of Aaliyah Edwards, Julie Vanloo should be their next option. She also represented Team Belgium at this year’s Summer Olympics and is an well-known international player with plenty of international experience. As mentioned above, she helped the Mystics fight for the final playoff spot, but the Atlanta Dream clinched it with their final road win over the New York Liberty.
2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year: Caitlin Clark
That wraps up this season’s WNBA Rookies Watch. Huge thanks for those blog subscribers who read every single WNBA Rookies Watch post, visitors who read WNBA Rookies Watch and for those occasional visitors who made this season’s WNBA Rookies Watch post, with Cameron Brink as the cover WNBA rookie, the top viewed WNBA Rookies Watch post. It has over 900+ views and counting. That’s the power of this year’s WNBA draft class. It wasn’t Caitlin Clark nor Angel Reese who had the top viewed WNBA Rookies Watch post, it was Cameron Brink, a future WNBA star who, unfortunately got injured midway through the WNBA season and would’ve been one of the candidates for the All-Rookie Team.
