The 2024 WNBA rookies including Angel Reese and Rickea Jackson, are focused on reaching new heights in basketball and other endeavors.
Women’s basketball is a major event in sports if this period of competition is teaching us anything.
With a peak viewership of 24.1 million, this year’s NCAA championship match between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Iowa Hawkeyes drew the biggest crowd in the annals of women’s collegiate basketball history – becoming the most-watched basketball match at any level since 2019.
As a result, with millions of people eager to find out where their favorite players will begin their professional careers, Monday night’s WNBA Draft became the highest-watched WNBA event on ESPN platforms.
At a press conference on Monday night, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert declared, “We are witnessing a transformational moment in sports. Trends in women’s basketball are real. We are prepared for whatever comes next because we have been gaining this momentum consistently for years.”
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The newest group of athletes in women’s sports is setting new standards and seizing a plethora of remarkable and unheard-of chances.
Engelbert pointed out that women’s basketball is spearheading industry change, particularly with the 2024 draft class of players.
Every player contributes an unwavering love and passion for the game in addition to their extraordinary talent. The 2024 draft class is shattering more glass ceilings and seizing every chance to show off what they’re capable of, both on and off the court.
They are motivated by the great players who came before them, such as Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Candace Parker, and player-turned-champion coach Dawn Staley.
In addition to their obvious skills, these young ladies’ off-court activities are elevating the profile of women’s sports.
Former UConn player Aaliyah Edwards, who was rumored to have informed a news outlet that now is the perfect time to “humanize the basketball player” outside of the court, following the revelation that she will be joining the Washington Mystics next season.
“Bayou Barbie” Angel Reese, who announced before the semifinals that she was leaving LSU to join the Chicago Sky, has already set the standard for NIL partnerships and is already blazing a trail of well-known endorsements. She signed 17 sponsorship agreements during the 2022–2023 WNBA season, including partnerships with McDonald’s, Coach, Raising Cane’s, and Amazon.
Reese reached a wider audience with each collaboration, proving to WNBA supporters and the general public alike that she is more than just a basketball player.
Reese stated that she is aware of the power involved in every transaction and that she has no intention of stopping anytime soon.
Reese’s success not only demonstrates the influence and significance such deals can have on advancing an athlete’s career, but it also draws attention to the opportunities that many of her fellow WNBA players have as they work to supplement salaries that still pale in comparison to what even the lowest-paid male players in the NBA are offered.
In the 2022–2023 season, the average yearly salary for WNBA players was $116,580, with the highest-paid players taking home $242,000. NBA players, in contrast, made an average salary of more than $10 million.
Women in sports have been advocating for equal pay and recognition for decades, and this generation of players is continuing that fight. Speaking with a news outlet, the overwhelming desire amongst the 2024 class is expansion and equity in basketball.
“I want everything we deserve,” said Rickea Jackson, the only draft pick from the University of Tennessee to the LA Sparks, in reference to the chartered flights, big TV deals, and nationally televised games that are standard in the NBA. “I feel like we just deserve it all. This class in particular is really raising that level and raising that bar.”
In an interview with a media outlet, Reese revealed that she turns to other professionals for assistance and journals as a way to process difficult situations.
Similarly, Celeste Taylor—the 15th overall draft choice who is currently playing for the Indiana Fevers—told a media outlet that she always keeps her Bible handy so she may remain grounded at all times.
Jackson informed the media that when she needs extra strength, she turns to her fiancé and her two stylish dogs, Chanel and Fendi, in addition to their tight relationship with faith and mutual support.
Reflecting on her path to the league, Charisma Osborne noted, “The women in the W [NBA] are absolutely the strongest women.” “There’s a lot of hardship sometimes, and I’m just thrilled to be a part of the game’s growth and progress.”
Every player in this year’s draft class has the same ultimate objective, which is to see the WNBA expand.
All of these draft picks want to keep improving the game for future generations even as they navigate their first seasons.
This newfound enthusiasm and focus on the WNBA, according to Commissioner Engelbert, will endure “more than a moment.”
