WNBA draft 2024: Chicago Sky select Kamilla Cardoso, Angel Reese; Caitlin Clark goes to Indiana Fever as No. 1 pick

CHICAGO (WLS) — The Chicago Sky had two prime 10 picks Monday evening in one of the vital anticipated WNBA drafts in sports activities historical past.

Ladies’s basketball followers packed Revolution Brewery and Taproom for Monday evening’s Chicago Sky Draft Watch Get together.

“I bear in mind when the WNBA began, and also you could not discover a WNBA recreation on TV,” mentioned Sky fan Kimberly Collins. “Lastly, they understand that girls are ballers!”

Clark, a Sky season ticket holder from Gary, Indiana, was thrilled with the group’s No. 3 decide: Kamilla Cardoso.

“I attempted to carry again the tears, as a result of I used to be so excited. I needed Kamilla so unhealthy particularly since we’re rebuilding,” Collins mentioned. “Now, if we will get Angel [Reese] at quantity seven.”

Collins’ want got here true. The Sky named LSU’s Angel Reese because the No. 7 decide.

Breanna Beck mentioned these picks mark the start of a brand new chapter in Skytown.

“These gamers, they’re generational, and so they’re making large jumps to me within the W. They made large jumps within the school recreation, and I really feel like they are going to make some noise once they come to Chicago,” Beck mentioned.

The vitality of the room on Monday evening encapsulated the sweeping momentum that has moved the nation into “the ladies’s basketball period.”

“All people is simply catching as much as us. That is nothing new for me, and I really feel like individuals are utilizing their platforms, and all people is simply leaping on to comprehend that we’re simply as nice,” Beck mentioned.

The Sky’s picks got here after Iowa celebrity Caitlin Clark was the No. 1 decide, going to the Indiana Fever.

Clark, together with South Carolina heart Kamilla Cardoso and UCLA guard Kiki Rice, are different large names profiled in an upcoming ESPN docuseries.

WNBA draftees have been already strolling the enduring “orange carpet” to a mass of followers Monday. Monday’s draft got here on the heels of an unprecedented NCAA girls’s basketball match that noticed record-breaking viewership numbers.

“We’re already seeing that vitality carry over to the WNBA,” mentioned Annie Costabile, WNBA and Chicago Sky beat reporter for the Chicago Solar-Occasions.

Costabile has been masking the motion from the WNBA draft in New York.

“There have been crowds of followers following these athletes round. They began their day on the Empire State Constructing. There have been literal blocks of kids, adults standing outdoors the Empire State Constructing making an attempt to catch a glimpse of those gamers,” Costabile mentioned.

“High targets are Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese: These are two of their targets with these picks, however, past Kamilla and Angel, there are a variety of viable choices with each of these picks,” Costabile mentioned earlier Monday. “A lot of what occurs with the Sky at No. 3 and No. 7 is dependent upon who’s selecting earlier than them and who they decide.”

Monday’s WNBA draft is the primary in practically a decade with a stay viewers.

The video within the participant above is from a earlier report.

The Related Press contributed to this report.