Celebrate the Present and Future of the WNBA

Happy National Women in Sports Day! Women’s basketball recognition has been an ongoing issue for a long time. There have been many historic players in the WNBA that brought the spotlight to their craft. In recent years, the talent from athletes is undeniable, but at times still lacks recognition. This has not stopped female athletes from playing the game. It’s 2024 and the talent in women’s basketball is on another level. There are many players in the WNBA and college basketball that are absolutely killing it right now. I would love to give them flowers, but for the ease of reading this blog I will mention four major faces of the game that I see in the WNBA and college basketball as of right now.

The WNBA has some major stars making an impact on the game. A’ja Wilson was the No.1 draft pick by the Las Vegas Aces in 2018. Wilson had a notable resume in college, which included sweeping all National Player of the Year awards and best player in Women’s College basketball for 2018. She went on to winning MVP in 2020 along with her first Olympic gold metal in the Summer Olympic Games. In 2022, Wilson led the Las Vegas Aces to victory in the WNBA Championship game and ran it back again the next season. Wilson and the Aces are back to back champions and this could be the start of a dynasty in Las Vegas. 

The spotlight may be on the Aces being a two-time WNBA Championship team, but there are other players making waves towards obtaining that championship this coming season. One of the biggest rivals to the Aces is New York Liberty, where the one and only Breanna Stewart plays. Stewart has had an impressive career so far. She got Rookie of the Year in 2016. She led the Seattle Storm to winning a championship in 2018 and 2020. She was the 2023 WNBA MVP and battled the Las Vegas Aces in the 2023 WNBA Finals Championship Game. 

Women’s college basketball has broken viewership records in recent years and the talent has been next level. In 2022, there was a record-breaking 4.85 million viewers for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game between South Carolina and UConn. The appeal for women’s basketball continues to grow and it’s all to the young amazing college players showcasing their talents on and off the court. 

I have seen some absolutely insane highlights from several players but Caitlin Clark at Iowa and Juju Watkins at USC, have blown my mind this season. Caitlin Clark shoots from deep and the crowd goes nuts. A step back from the logo and the shot is good. Not only is her game impressive, but people are showing up to games to see her play and the numbers are above average in attendance. In a game against Purdue there was a crowd of 14,867 and the average for Iowa vs Purdue has typically been 4,826. ESPNW called this “The Caitlin Clark effect”. Clark is approaching the NCAA Division I women’s scoring record and needs 65 points to pass Kelsey Plum’s 3,527. 

Juju Watkins is playing her freshman year at USC and has already been making history. Watkins is only the second Trojan ever to be named Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year. As a freshman, her stat average is 27.3 points, 3.4 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.7 steals. In simple words she is slaying at basketball as a freshman. She has become a star on her team and made headlines when leading her team to victory on Friday, February 2, 2024. Watkins scored a season high of 51 points. I would like to note that USC won against Stanford with 67 points and 51 of those points were all Watkins. This impressive feat scored Watkins a spotlight on the AP Player of the Week.

There are so many exciting things happening in women’s basketball and it can only go up from here. The appeal continues to grow and many WNBA teams are preparing for the start of the season and for a chance at bringing home a chip. College basketball this season has been a wild ride of record-breaking players. With March Madness soon approaching I cannot wait to see what is to come from these young players and have no doubt that they will be the future faces of the WNBA.

“Basketball is not just a game, it’s a lifestyle. It’s something that becomes a part of you and shapes who you are” – Sue Bird (WNBA GOAT).