We’re in the final stretch of the WNBA regular season, and the rookies are shining bright.
Teams have seven or eight games left, and the playoff race is starting to crystalize (the last day of the regular season is Sept. 19; playoffs start Sept. 22). Nothing is for sure until it’s for sure, though, as evidenced in the last week by teams like Dallas and Los Angeles knocking off championship contenders Minnesota and New York, respectively. Nothing comes easy in this league, and the veterans will spend the next two-plus weeks reminding the newcomers of that.
In other words: We’re in for a fun final stretch.
Some of the most impressive rookies from the 2024 season — like Los Angeles Sparks standout Rickea Jackson — likely won’t get more than the 40 game regular season because their teams are mostly out of the playoff hunt. But the two biggest rookie stars, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, are poised to make the playoffs. There’s a reason they’re at the top of the final USA TODAY Sports WNBA Rookie Power Rankings. Let’s take a closer look:
1. Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
Stats through 33 games: 18.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 1.4 steals
Breakdown: Clark has been nothing short of spectacular since play resumed after the Olympic break, averaging 24.6 points and 9.0 assists in seven games post-Paris (turns out that time off was good for her, as it has historically been for rookies).
Besides her standout individual play, the Fever have looked remarkably better as a team, having gone 6-1 and currently sit in sixth place. With their 100-81 win over fellow rookie Reese and the Chicago Sky on Aug. 30 — giving the Fever a 3-1 record over Chicago this season — Clark has all but wrapped up the 2024 Rookie of the Year award. She leads the league in assists, and has already set WNBA rookie records for made 3s and assists.
2. Angel Reese, Chicago Sky
Stats through 32 games: 13.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals
Breakdown: The surprise star of the 2024 rookie class, Reese has been terrific this season, especially on the glass, where she’s already set a WNBA single-season record for rebounds; keep in mind, this is for all of the WNBA, not just rookies.
It’s true that many of Reese’s rebounds come from grabbing her own misses — roughly one-third of them, according to a terrific deep-dive from HerHoopStats. Reese will be the first to say she needs to get more polished and efficient on the offensive end, and she will get there. In the meantime, there’s no denying her tenacity on the boards, which has helped Chicago push for a playoff spot. The issues with the Sky — mostly that they do not have a veteran guard who can steady them — are not the fault of Reese. Still, wins matter and it’s why right now at least, Reese is coming up behind Clark in the Rookie of the Year race.
3. Leonie Fiebich, New York Liberty
Stats through 33 games: 6.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Breakdown: Fiebich’s summer with the German national team clearly gave her a confidence boost. Don’t be fooled by her stats. This 24-year-old rookie has been a key sub for the championship-contending Liberty this season, especially since returning from the Olympic break. Fiebich was a 2020 draft pick — she went in the second round, No. 22 overall, to Los Angeles — but hasn’t played in the league until this summer. She regularly closes games for the Liberty and will be crucial in their playoff push.
4. Kamilla Cardoso, Chicago Sky
Stats through 26 games: 9.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists
Breakdown: Now that she’s fully healthy, we’re beginning to see just how dominant Cardoso is going to be at the professional level. Cardoso, like Reese, needs to get more polished on the offensive end — she has a bad habit of getting stuck underneath the basket — but that will come with time. She moves well for her size and will only get better. Her play this season has been impressive but sometimes lost in the conversation because of the Sky’s inconsistency (again, not her fault).
5. Rickea Jackson, Los Angeles Sparks
Stats through 32 games: 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Breakdown: Everyone who follows women’s basketball knew Jackson, a scoring machine in college, would be a force in the WNBA. But I’m not sure any of us anticipated how quickly she would transition to taking games over at the professional level. Some evidence of that: her 25-point explosion in the Sparks’ Aug. 25 game at Dallas, and her 19-point performance against the Liberty three days later. Once fellow rookie Cameron Brink gets healthy, she and the 6-foot-2 guard/forward Jackson will be a lethal inside-out combo. The future is bright in LA.
6. Jacy Sheldon, Dallas Wings
Stats through 32 games: 5.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Breakdown: Stuck on the bench early in the season, Sheldon has found her place with the Wings and looks to be an important piece of their rotation for the foreseeable future. She’s a smart defender, likes to push pace offensively and is getting better at hitting open looks and creating shots for her teammates. Dallas has been hit hard by injuries this season, but the last couple games have shown the Wings are eager to show they’re better than their record. Could Sheldon help them make a playoff push?
7. Aaliyah Edwards, Washington Mystics
Stats through 29 games: 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Breakdown: Edwards has started two games in a row for the Mystics, a nod to her improvement and dependability late in the WNBA season. Edwards is also benefitting from an Olympic break spent with the Canadian national team; though Canada was underwhelming at the Paris Games she got valuable time with and against some of the world’s top pros. At this point all Edwards really needs is more playing time, and that could come in bunches the next couple weeks as Washington tries to secure a spot in the postseason. She’s going to be a solid pro for a very long time.
8. Celeste Taylor, Phoenix Mercury
Stats through 14 games: 2.0 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists
Breakdown: Talk about a journeywoman. Drafted 15th overall this spring by the Indiana Fever, Taylor was waived in late June before being signed to a seven-day contract by the Phoenix Mercury on July 12. Then she went to Connecticut on another short contract and played in one game before landing back with the Mercury. In Phoenix she’s drawn praise from Diana Taurasi and Natasha Cloud, some of the league’s longest-tenured and most accomplished veterans. Taylor hasn’t had an easy road in her first season as a pro, but we deeply respect how she keeps showing up and working to prove herself.
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