How to Follow the WNBA Draft If You’re Newly Obsessed With Women’s Basketball

If all the thrill of NCAA March Madness has you newly invested in women’s basketball, you’re not alone. Literally hundreds of thousands of other Americans have jumped on board too, thanks in no small part to the fervor surrounding the tournament—and the highlight shining on amazing athletes like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and others.

The 2024 women’s national championship game—a showdown between the Iowa Hawkeyes and South Carolina Gamecocks—drew a record-breaking 18.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record the most-watched basketball game overall (yep, including men’s or women’s, college or pro) since 2019, in line with ESPN.

There’s no denying we’re entering a fairly thrilling era for ladies’s basketball. And the perfect part is, despite the fact that March Madness is over, there’s plenty more excitement coming up: The WNBA draft, which features a few of the most-hyped college stars and sets the stage for epic pro games ahead, is occurring on April 15.

Fair warning: The draft process is a bit, um, nuanced, and in the event you’re befuddled by the way it all works, well, that’s totally comprehensible. To demystify things, we compiled the below Q&A that addresses all of your burning b-ball questions in an-easy-to-digest format. Right this manner for the must-know intel!

First off, when and where is that this all taking place?

Mark your calendar for Monday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET. That’s when the draft festivities—held this 12 months on the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn—will kick off. For the primary time since 2016, fans shall be allowed to attend the draft in person, making for an excellent exciting vibe that we’re betting TV viewers will feel as well.

What’s the purpose of the draft?

Glad you asked! Basically the WNBA holds its draft so teams can select latest players from the most recent pool of eligible athletes, including many soon-to-be college grads. Through a lottery and rating process that favors teams with less-than-stellar records (more on that in a minute), the draft goals to bring parity to the league in order that struggling teams have a likelihood to bolster their rosters with the perfect latest players. The profit for us viewers? More exciting games!

How many teams are included?

All 12 teams that form the WNBA take part in the draft. This includes: the Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm, Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, and Chicago Sky.

So how are picks chosen?

There are three rounds within the draft, with 12 picks per round. The order that teams get to make their picks relies on performance from last season, with the worst teams going first and the perfect going last.

One vital exception: The first 4 picks in the primary round are determined by the draft lottery (a weighted drawing among the many 4 teams that didn’t make the 2023 WNBA playoffs: the Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, and Seattle Storm)—plus any traded picks (principally, teams can determine to swap pick numbers with one another).

What makes athletes eligible for the draft?

There are three fundamental groups that may take part in the draft: all college seniors who aren’t any longer eligible to play within the NCAA; any NCAA player who turns 22 this 12 months and provides up (or “renounces”) their remaining NCAA eligibility; or any international player who turns 20 this 12 months.

How many rounds are there?

Three! And each round features 12 picks.

How many athletes are within the pool, and what number of will get picked?

The WNBA hasn’t announced how big the athlete pool is that this 12 months, but an April 4 press release from the organization named 89 players who renounced their college eligibility to change into draft candidates. Per week later, the WNBA issued one other press release spotlighting some draft headliners who weren’t named in that original list, including Caitlin Clark, Aaliyah Edwards, and Kamilla Cardoso. So it’s not clear exactly how big the ultimate pool shall be, but we know that ultimately, just 36 athletes shall be chosen.

Which teams have first picks this 12 months?

The Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, and Chicago Sky—in that order‚ will get first dibs this 12 months. Notably, the Fever got to choose first last 12 months too. Lucky them!

Which athletes are draft favorites?

Not surprisingly, Caitlin Clark is widely predicted to be the highest pick. As the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and highest-earning NCAA women’s basketball player in history (due to NIL allowances), the 22-year-old guard just wrapped a collegiate profession with some seriously impressive stats, scoring 3,951 total points, 1,144 assists, and 990 rebounds during her 4 years with the Iowa Hawkeyes, per ESPN.