2024 WNBA Draft preview: Indiana Fever

Last season, the Fever had the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft for the first time in team history and hit the jackpot with Aliyah Boston, the 2023 Rookie of the Year. In 2022, they had the No. 2 pick and took NaLyssa Smith, who made the All-Rookie Team and technically finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting, albeit earning only one vote with 53 of the 56 votes going to the No. 1 pick, Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream.

This year, the Fever are picking first again, thanks to WNBA lottery odds being based on a team’s record from the previous two seasons combined. Indiana also owns a second-round (No. 15) and third-round (No. 27) selection. However, including training camp contracts, Indiana already has 12 players on roster, making it unlikely the Fever’s later draftees will make the final roster.

Assessing the Fever’s team-building needs entering the draft

With 18 wins, the Fever “won” the race to the bottom and have a chance to build themselves up throughout the draft to become a championship contender, especially if they take their cues from the last team that enjoyed a three-year stretch of similarly high picks: the San Antonio Stars/Las Vegas Aces. The Aces organization had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 drafts, and have done quite well for themselves, with the players they selected—Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young—all staring for the back-to-back champs.

That being said, Indianapolis isn’t necessarily Las Vegas, so keeping players there might be an issue. They might stay in Indianapolis if the organization builds a cohesive, championship-oriented team. They already have their frontcourt of the future in Boston and Smith, so the natural choice seems to be a complementary guard. Somebody, who can share the ball, stretch the floor and shoot the lights out of any arena. Maybe she also can talk a little trash, following the proud tradition of other Indiana shooters, Larry Bird and Reggie Miller. It also wouldn’t hurt if the player brought national attention to the Fever.

If only there was such a player available in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Fever, like any team, would jump on the opportunity to snatch her up. Well, luckily for the Fever, and the whole WNBA too, there is such a player. Hello, Caitlin Clark!

Why Caitlin Clark will be the No. 1 pick

Our own Zachary Draves, expert on all things Iowa Hawkeyes, describes Clark as follows:

When it comes to Caitlin Clark, she is the consummate playmaker who always rises to the occasion. She is a true basketball savant who continuously works to make herself better in every single aspect of the game. Everybody understandably talks about her shooting, but she has great vision of the court to where she foresees all of the possibilities that are in front of her and can pass the ball with such beauty that it is just as captivating as her logo 3s. As she transitions into the WNBA and plays for the Fever, she is certainly going to take those qualities with her.

What can you write about a player who is already getting million-dollar offers from exhibition leagues, has already been called a generational talent and has had an impact on basketball so great that it’s been described as The Caitlin Clark Effect? There’s really not much to add. The Fever will be drafting someone who is familiar with fame, who can handle pressure and who is not deterred by losses. Last year, the Hawkeyes lost in the national championship and Clark came back stronger than ever. Imagine how determined she will be to prove herself after this year’s heartbreaking loss.

Is there a chance the Fever pick someone else? With their best player, Aliyah Boston, talking about how she can envision playing with Clark, its seems the selection is all but official. But just in case, here’s Zachary again:

She may not be hot right off the bat in terms of scoring, but she will certainly get there and I think what you will see is her assists totals go up dramatically given how she wants her teammates to succeed. I think she will at the very least try to prove herself in that way. Plus she has got a familiar presence in Aliyah Boston to work with and the tandem of those two will do great wonders because they are both excellent transition players who can feed off each other.

But, could the Fever get crazy?

However, if—and it’s the biggest “if” imaginable—the Fever decide to go a different route, they might go with Kamilla Cardoso and reunite her with Aliyah Boston. With Cardoso in the middle, Fever would have the most promising frontcourt in the W. After leading her team to a perfect 38-0 season and the national championship, the 6-foot-7 Brazilian was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Cardoso is predicted by most experts to be selected fourth overall, which shows the talent available in this draft.

While Cardoso appeals as an alternative because of the South Carolina connection that she has with Boston, Cameron Brink of Stanford is considered the superior player, who, if it wasn’t for Clark, would be the consensus No. 1 pick. Brink is the best defender in the draft, and her 6-foot-8 wingspan makes her shot blocking and rebounding seem almost effortless. Picking Brink would be another reunion, as she again would play with Lexie Hull, whom she won a national title with at Stanford in 2021. Hull has been steadily improving her position on the roster since being drafted No. 6 in 2022.

Of course, it’s gonna be Clark!

Picking either Brink or Cardoso would keep the Fever backcourt trio of Hull, Kelsey Mitchell and Erica Wheeler intact, allowing Hull and Mitchell to continue to develop under Wheeler’s leadership. However, the veteran point guard has been more than optimistic about Clark joining the Fever. And while Clark falling to No. 2 and being snatched up by the Los Angeles Sparks could be seen as better for the league from the marketing standpoint, I strongly believe that the opposite is true and her presence on a small-market team will elevate the W even more.

Generational talents shine regardless of the place in which they play. It’s the players that surround them that count. It’s nice to dream about a LA-NY rivalry headlined by Clark and Sabrina Ionescu, but being raised in the 1990s, I fondly remember the NBA’s Pacers-Knicks rivalry and one Reggie Miller becoming a basketball icon by leading a competent Indiana team to numerous wins. Miller didn’t have Hall of Fame teammates in their prime. Clark, in contrast, will be paired with another all-timer Boston, forming a one-two punch for the ages.