The WNBA is already reaping the benefits of a storied rookie class, with an insane uptick in fan attendance and TV viewership. Players in the W, really for the first time in the league's history, have become steady fodder for the talking-heads segment of broadcast sports punditry. It's an exciting moment.
No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark, hot off the most prolific scoring run in the history of NCAA basketball with the Iowa Hawkeyes (which ended with two runs to the title game), has had a solid start with the Indiana Fever, but clearly needs some enforcer help and perhaps a bit more muscle to deal with constant paint punishment from opposing squads.
Reigning South Carolina Gamecocks NCAA champ Kamilla Cardoso missed the first month of the season with a shoulder injury, and may already be out of the running for Rookie of the Year honors. But she did have a solid debut game as a pro against Clark's Fever over the weekend, notching scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbing six rebounds in just 18 minutes of action for her Chicago Sky.
Let's take stock of the WNBA's top rookies, in the midst of ongoing Week 4 action.
5. Julie Vanloo, Washington Mystics
At 31, Vanloo isn't exactly a first-time pro. But the 5-foot-8 Belgian point guard is a WNBA rookie, having toiled overseas for a variety of international clubs across France, Sweden, Turkey, Australia, and Spain. Through 10 contests with the 0-10 Mystics (eight starts), Vanloo is averaging 8.1 points on .380/.321/.600 shooting splits, 5.7 assists, and 2.2 rebounds. A team's overall record shouldn't greatly impede the perception of a first-year player, and the fact that Vanloo is contributing at such a high level already, especially as the team's leading passer, is an exciting sign for her future trajectory.
4. Rickea Jackson, Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks selected the 6-foot-2 forward out of the University of Tennessee with the No. 4 pick this season. She was an elite scorer in college, and is one of the more prolific rookies in the league this season on a rebuilding (2-7) Los Angeles club. Jackson is averaging 9.1 points on an efficient .467/.438/.826 slash line, plus three rebounds.
3. Cameron Brink, Los Angeles Sparks
Brink, the No. 2 pick in April out of Stanford, has enjoyed a fairly well-rounded start to her pro tenure. The 6-foot-4 power forward is averaging eight points on .448/.350/.813 shooting splits, 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks (the third-best average in the league), 2.1 assists, and one steal a night, as one of the better two-way players in this year's class.
According to Neil Payne of ESPN, Brink's steal and block rates are tops among rookies who've played enough minutes, her true shooting percentage is second, and her rebound rate ranks third.
2. Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
Clark, the center of the media storm, leads all rookies in scoring (15.6 points on .357/.297/.896 shooting splits) and passing (6.4 dimes, fourth-most in the league, against a brutal 5.4 turnovers), while also pulling down an impressive 5.1 rebounds, grabbing 1.3 steals, and blocking one shot. Her defensive limitations, inefficient shooting, and struggles finishing inside the paint against opposing defenders could hurt her case for Rookie of the Year honors, but when the dust clears she seems likely to be one of the leading contenders for the award at season's end.
1. Angel Reese, Chicago Sky
Could Reese, a veritable sleeper as the No. 7 pick in this spring's 2024 WNBA Draft, really best Clark once again for some major hardware, during their first pro season? It certainly seems possible. The 6-foot-3 power forward out of LSU was a Day 1 starter for a good-not-great rebuilding Sky club. She's averaging 11.4 points (on a less-than-ideal 33 percent shooting from the field), 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.6 steals a night for a scrappy 4-5 Sky club (they're currently the league's No. 7 seed).
Per Stathead, Reese's 17.3 percent rebounding rate (as of this writing) ranks as the ninth-best in the entire WNBA, not just among rookies. She's also one of just eight players to be averaging at least 11 points and nine rebounds thus far this season. She still needs to work on her jumper, but her instant impact on defense and cleaning the glass has already made the 22-year-old "Bayou Barbie" a formidable force and a winning player on a solid team.
About the writer
Newsweek contributing writer Alex Kirschenbaum is a hoops fanatic who has managed to parlay his passion into a writing career. ... Read more
