All eyes are on the WNBA playoff push with less than a month remaining in the 2024 regular season.
But the most anticipated draft class in league history also continues to draw attention. Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in April, hopes to lead the Indiana Fever back to the postseason for the first time since 2016. And Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso hope to lead the Chicago Sky to the playoffs as well.
Clark and Reese have already etched their names into the record books this season. Clark set the WNBA single-game record with 19 assists, and she is the first rookie in league history to tally a triple-double. Reese set a WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles (15).
We’ll continue to track the top rookie performances every game day throughout the season.
Last updated: Aug. 28
Guard | 6-foot | Game log | Stats
Last time out: Another game and a couple more milestones for Clark, who helped lead the Fever to their first victory over the Connecticut Sun since 2021. She now has 88 3-pointers, setting the WNBA rookie season record. She set the rookie record for assists on Aug. 18.
With 19 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in Wednesday’s 84-80 win in Indianapolis, Clark also became the first WNBA player — not just rookie — to have six consecutive games with at least 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. And with 10 games of at least 15 points and 5 assists in a row, she has tied Diana Taurasi’s mark set in 2010.
For the season, Clark is 88-of-267 from long range (33%). She talked after the game about hoping she can still improve her percentage. She shot 37.7% in making 548 3-pointers in her Iowa college career. Clark and fellow guard Kelsey Mitchell (80) are the only WNBA teammates to both have at least 80 3s this season.
What we learned: The Fever have at least one victory this season over every team except the Dallas Wings and Las Vegas Aces. Indiana still has two games left against both those teams. The Sun had won 11 in a row by an average of 13.2 points against the Fever, with wins in four games in 2022 and 2023 and in the first three meetings this year.
“The two games [at Connecticut] were about as bad as it gets for us as a team,” Clark said of losing 92-71 in the season opener in May and 89-72 in June. “I thought we came in very motivated, very excited for this game.”
David Letterman and Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles (gymnastics) and Gabby Thomas (track and field) were among the celebrities in the crowd of 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
“I thought our crowd was incredible; they were really into the game,” Clark said. “That certainly helps us a lot, especially when you need a big stop there at the end. It feels like there’s another defender there on the floor.” — Michael Voepel
Up next: at Chicago Sky on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ION)
Forward | 6-foot-3 | Game log | Stats
Last time out: Reese entered Wednesday’s matchup one double-double away from setting a single-season rookie record, but she’ll have to wait at least another game to make history. The former LSU star finished with seven points (3-for-10 shooting) and 14 rebounds in the Sky’s loss to the Washington Mystics, and committed a team-high six of Chicago’s 22 turnovers. Reese did, however, become the first player in league history to record 25 double-digit rebound games in a season.
What we learned: After allowing 10th-place Washington to close the game on a 13-2 run, Chicago has won just one of its six games following the Olympic break. Its past three games have all been lost in clutch time. With Atlanta threatening to close in on the Sky’s playoff spot, Teresa Weatherspoon’s squad needs to improve in late-game execution if it wants to return to the postseason for the sixth year in a row. — Alexa Philippou
Up next: Indiana Fever on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ION)
Center | 6-foot-7 | Game log | Stats
Last time out: Cardoso recorded her fifth double-double of the season (10 points, 11 rebounds) in the Sky’s 74-70 home loss to the Mystics on Wednesday. She has the third-most double-doubles among rookies this season, behind Reese’s 22 and Clark’s 10. Cardoso also finished with three blocks and has eight rejections across the past two games.
What we learned: Cardoso attempted only four shots on the night (3-for-4 shooting) and Weatherspoon lamented postgame that she took so few. But the former South Carolina star recorded a team-high six assists — a testament to her court vision and unselfishness, her teammates said, as she continues to get more comfortable and confident in the Sky’s offense. — Philippou
Up next: Indiana Fever on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ION)
Forward | 6-foot-2 | Game log | Stats
Last time out: The good news for the Sparks is Jackson continues to make progress as a rookie, getting a career-high 25 points Sunday. The bad news is the Sparks aren’t making progress winning games. They have lost seven in a row, and Sunday’s 113-110 defeat at Dallas was historic in a bad way: It’s the most points a losing team has ever scored in a regulation (non-overtime) game in WNBA history.
It’s also the second-most points the Sparks, an original WNBA franchise, have ever scored in a game, behind 115 at Chicago in 2017. That’s the kind of season it has been for Los Angeles.
Jackson was 9-of-15 shooting, getting 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. She played 37 minutes. Her point total was the most by a Sparks rookie since Nneka Ogwumike had 30 points in 2012, when she was the No. 1 pick.
Jackson has scored in double figures for eight consecutive games, and in 12 of her past 13.
What we learned: The fourth quarter was part epic Wings surge, and part epic Sparks collapse. Dallas trailed by 19 entering the final 10 minutes, then outscored Los Angeles 40-18. Since quarters were implemented in the WNBA in 2006, Dallas is the third team to win after overcoming a 19-point deficit going into the fourth quarter, and the first to do so in regulation.
The Sparks are 6-24, tying for their most losses in a season (10-24 in 2007). Now that the WNBA has a 40-game schedule, the Sparks can break the record. They surely don’t want to, but with 10 games left, they’re going to. — Voepel
Up next: vs. New York Liberty on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET, NBA TV)