Women’s basketball had quite the historic month this past March, and records were broken at the WNBA draft this past Monday. This began with Caitlin Clark, the trailblazer for women’s basketball’s, soaring popularity. She was selected as the number one pick for the 2024 WNBA draft held in New York. Clark will be joining last year’s number one WNBA draft pick, Aliyah Boston as they both will now play for the Indiana Fever.Â
The 2024 Draft was filled with this year’s top talent from the college level, and fans’ excitement to see their favorites from March Madness was shown in the numbers; this year, the record for most viewers of a WNBA draft was broken with 2.45 million viewers on ESPN. This record is a 374% increase from last year’s attendance of 572,000.Â
Undoubtedly, a clear highlight from the night was watching Caitlin Clark’s number one selection alongside her family and college coach who shed a few tears on camera. Another viral moment from the night occurred when the camera panned to Paige Bueckers, a rising fifth year student at the University of Connecticut and one of this generation’s best female basketball players. Paige was spotted looking like a “proud mom” as social media has coined it when her teammates Nika Muhl and Aaliyah Edwards were drafted. Finally, Kate Martin, a University of Iowa graduate, went viral for her being selected by the Las Vegas Aces. This moment was special because Martin did not expect to be drafted that night as proved by her sitting in the general audience with the rest of her Iowa teammates, all of whom were there to cheer on Caitlin Clark. Martin’s family wasn’t even in attendance, but rather zoomed in to the draft when Martin was drafted.Â
Women’s basketball is finally receiving the recognition it deserves on a historic scale. There is much anticipation now for the 2024 WNBA season, and fans are already starting to purchase tickets. On March 7, the Las Vegas Aces announced they sold out of their season ticket memberships for the 2024 season, making them the first team in WNBA history to reach that feat. A month later, on April 6, the Aces announced five of their home games are sold out. Finally, in just an hour after Caitlin Clark was drafted by the Fever, her jersey on Fanatics completely sold out in all sizes. Fans across the country are more than ready for the upcoming season. With all the history that has been made over the past month, it is more than exciting to see where women’s basketball will go from here.