For the first time in eight years, the WNBA Draft will be open to fans looking to get a glimpse of the league’s newest crop of superstars.
The league’s 28th annual draft is set to take place on April 15 with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announcing the draft picks at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a famed performing arts theater that is just minutes away from Barclays Center.
About 1,000 tickets will be sold for this year’s draft, the league announced Wednesday. It’s the first time the draft will have fans in attendance since the 2014-16 drafts were held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
“We are focused on creating elevated events that WNBA fans won’t want to miss, at a time when the energy for the WNBA has never been higher,” Engelbert said in a statement. “Last season resulted in our most-watched regular season in over two decades, our highest total attendance in 13 years and set record figures across WNBA digital and social platforms.”
Last year, Spring Studios in Manhattan hosted the 2023 WNBA Draft, where the Indiana Fever selected eventual unanimous Rookie of the Year winner Aliyah Boston with the No. 1 overall pick. The Fever are again slated to have the first selection in this year’s draft.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Stanford’s Cameron Brink, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson, LSU’s Angel Reese and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso are the biggest names heading into April’s draft.
Clark has yet to declare for the draft, but is the consensus No. 1 overall pick, according to multiple mock drafts. The owner of the NCAA women’s scoring record said she won’t make her decision until after the end of the collegiate season.
Brink, Cardoso and Reese could also return to college for the 2024-25 season.
The Los Angeles Sparks will get a head start on their rebuild with the second and fourth picks in the draft. The Chicago Sky, who recently traded franchise cornerstone Kahleah Copper, will pick third. The Dallas Wings will pick fifth
General manager Jonathan Kolb and the Liberty will pick 11th. The defending champion Las Vegas Aces currently don’t own a first-round pick in this year’s draft.
