2024 WNBA season | |
---|---|
League | Women's National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | May 14 – September 19 |
Number of games | 40 per team |
Number of teams | 12 |
TV partner(s) | ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 Ion CBS/CBSSN Amazon Prime Video NBA TV |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Caitlin Clark |
Picked by | Indiana Fever |
The 2024 WNBA season is the 28th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), a professional women's basketball league based in the United States.
The regular season runs from May 14 to September 19 with each of the 12 teams playing 40 games—four games against five teams from the same conference and two teams from the other conference, and three games against the remaining four teams. [1] Five regular season games in early June will be played against teams in the same conference to determine qualification for the WNBA Commissioner's Cup, an in-season tournament first played in 2021; the final will be hosted by the team with the better win–loss record in qualifying games. [2] The 2024 season includes a month-long break for the Summer Olympic Games that begins after the annual WNBA All-Star Game on July 20 in Phoenix, Arizona. [3] [4]
The eight teams with the best regular season records, regardless of conference, qualify for the WNBA Playoffs to determine the league's champion in the 2024 WNBA Finals. Since 2022, the playoffs have used a best-of-three series in the first round, where teams are seeded based on regular season performance, and a best-of-five format for the semifinals and WNBA Finals. [5] The Las Vegas Aces are the defending champions, having won in the 2023 WNBA Finals to retain their title in back-to-back seasons. [6]
The 2024 WNBA draft was held on April 15, 2024. The Indiana Fever won the first pick in the weighted draft lottery, held between the four teams that did not qualify for the 2023 WNBA Playoffs. It is the second consecutive year that Indiana has won the first pick in the draft. [7] The remaining lottery picks went to the Los Angeles Sparks in second, Phoenix Mercury in third, and Seattle Storm in fourth; the remaining picks are based on the regular season record of teams who qualified for the playoffs, from worst to best. [8]
Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Caitlin Clark | United States | Indiana Fever | Iowa |
2 | Cameron Brink | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Stanford |
3 | Kamilla Cardoso | Brazil | Chicago Sky (from Phoenix) | South Carolina |
4 | Rickea Jackson | United States | Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle) | Tennessee |
The free agency negotiation period began on January 21, 2023, and teams were able to officially sign players starting February 1. [14]
Off-season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | 2023 season | 2024 season | Reference |
Chicago Sky | Emre Vatansever | Teresa Weatherspoon | [15] [16] |
Phoenix Mercury | Nikki Blue | Nate Tibbetts | [17] |
Team USA vs. Team WNBA | ||
Scoring by quarter: 0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–0 |
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Connecticut Sun | 9 | 1 | .900 | – | 6–1 | 6–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
2 | New York Liberty | 10 | 2 | .833 | – | 8–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 4–0 |
3 | Minnesota Lynx | 7 | 3 | .700 | 2 | 5–2 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
4 | Seattle Storm | 7 | 3 | .700 | 2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 |
5 | Las Vegas Aces | 5 | 3 | .625 | 3 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
6 | Atlanta Dream | 4 | 4 | .500 | 4 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
7 | Phoenix Mercury | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4.5 | 3–4 | 4–1 | 1–5 | 2–1 |
8 | Chicago Sky | 4 | 5 | .444 | 4.5 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–2 |
9 | Dallas Wings | 3 | 6 | .333 | 5.5 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 0–3 |
10 | Los Angeles Sparks | 3 | 7 | .300 | 6 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 1–2 |
11 | Indiana Fever | 3 | 9 | .250 | 7 | 2–5 | 1–4 | 2–5 | 2–1 |
12 | Washington Mystics | 0 | 11 | .000 | 9.5 | 0–7 | 0–5 | 0–6 | 0–3 |
Notes
Note: Games highlighted in ██ represent Commissioner's Cup games.
All times Eastern
The following shows the leaders in each statistical category during the 2024 regular season. [18] [19] [20]
Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | 28.0 ppg |
Rebounds per game | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | 12.3 rpg |
Assists per game | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut Sun | 8.6 apg |
Steals per game | Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | 3.2 spg |
Blocks per game | Ezi Magbegor | Seattle Storm | 3.0 bpg |
Field goal percentage | Brionna Jones | Connecticut Sun | 60.6% |
Three point FG percentage | Kayla McBride | Minnesota Lynx | 48.6% |
Free throw percentage | Dana Evans | Chicago Sky | 100% |
Points per game (team) | New York Liberty | 85.8 ppg | |
Field goal percentage (team) | Minnesota Lynx | 45.5% |
Through games played June 8, 2024
Date Awarded | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
May 21 | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut | Napheesa Collier | Minnesota | [21] [22] |
May 28 | DeWanna Bonner | Connecticut | Kahleah Copper | Phoenix | [23] [24] |
June 4 | Sabrina Ionescu | New York | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas | [25] [26] |
Month | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
May | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas | [27] [28] |
Month | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
May | Caitlin Clark | Indiana | [29] |
Month | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
May | Stephanie White | Connecticut | [27] |
Award | Winner | Position | Team | Votes/Statistic | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Most Valuable Player Award | |||||
Finals MVP Award | |||||
Rookie of the Year Award | |||||
Most Improved Player Award | |||||
Defensive Player of the Year Award | |||||
Sixth Player of the Year Award | |||||
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | |||||
Peak Performer: Points | |||||
Peak Performer: Rebounds | |||||
Peak Performer: Assists | |||||
Coach of the Year Award | |||||
Basketball Executive of the Year Award | |||||
Team | Members | ||||
All-WNBA First Team | |||||
All-WNBA Second Team | |||||
All-Defensive First Team | |||||
All-Defensive Second Team | |||||
All-Rookie Team |
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff Appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Dream | Tanisha Wright | Las Vegas Aces (assistant) | 2 | 33–34 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Chicago Sky | Teresa Weatherspoon | New Orleans Pelicans (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Connecticut Sun | Stephanie White | Vanderbilt | 1 | 27–13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Indiana Fever | Christie Sides | Atlanta Dream (assistant) | 1 | 13–27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New York Liberty | Sandy Brondello | Phoenix Mercury | 2 | 48–28 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Washington Mystics | Eric Thibault | Washington Mystics (associate HC) | 1 | 19–21 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff Appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas Wings | Latricia Trammell | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 1 | 22–18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Las Vegas Aces | Becky Hammon | San Antonio Spurs (assistant) | 2 | 60–16 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Los Angeles Sparks | Curt Miller | Connecticut Sun | 1 | 17–23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Detroit Shock (assistant) | 14 | 300–170 | 12 | 6 | 4 |
Phoenix Mercury | Nate Tibbetts | Orlando Magic (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Seattle Storm | Noelle Quinn | Seattle Storm (associate head coach) | 3 | 49–53 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
This the eighth year of a nine year deal with ESPN, [30] the second year of a three year deal with Ion, [31] and the first year of a two year deal with CBS Sports and Amazon. [32] [33] Select games also air on NBA TV through the WNBA and NBA's shared ownership.
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