WNBA Draft 2024: Final results as Sky reload for the future

NEW YORK — Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca and coach Teresa Weatherspoon were standing in the middle of a thunderstorm Monday, each holding a lightning rod.

Their goal was simple: to divert energy into the organization both have been given the task of rebuilding.

When lightning finally struck, it was possibly enough to power the entire city.

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Kyle Williams/Sun-Times

Chicago Sky fan Ian Walsh had one reaction when the team traded former franchise player Kahleah Copper.

“I was like, ‘What the heck are they thinking?’” said Walsh, who has been a fan since 2012. He attended Monday night’s Sky draft party at Revolution Brewing.

The vision for the Sky’s future became clearer after Monday night when the team selected South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso (No. 3) and LSU forward Angel Reese (No. 7) in the 2024 WNBA Draft. This draft was the team’s chance to kick-start the next era for the team.

Read more here.

With all three rounds of the 2024 WNBA Draft over, here’s a look at the final results for all 36 picks:

Round 1

1. Fever: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
2. Sparks: Cameron Brink, Stanford
3. Sky: Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
4. Sparks: Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
5. Wings: Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
6. Mystics: Aaliyah Edwards, UConn
7. Sky: Angel Reese, LSU
8. Lynx: Alissa Pili, Utah
9. Wings: Carla Leite, France
10. Sun: Leïla Lacan, France
11. Liberty: Marquesha Davis, Ole Miss
12. Dream: Nyadiew Puoch, Australia

Round 2

1. Sky: Brynna Maxwell, Gonzaga
2. Storm: Nika Mühl, UConn
3. Fever: Celeste Taylor, Ohio State
4. Aces: Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse
5. Liberty: Esmery Martinez, Arizona
6. Aces: Kate Martin, Iowa
7. Sun: Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas
8. Dream: Isobel Borlase, Australia
9. Mystics: Kaylynne Truong, Gonzaga
10. Sun: Helena Pueyo, Arizona
11. Liberty: Jessika Carter, Mississippi State
12. Aces: Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech

Round 3

1. Mercury: Charisma Osborne, UCLA
2. Storm: Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
3. Fever: Leilani Correa, Florida
4. Sparks: McKenzie Forbes, USC
5. Mercury: Jaz Shelley, Nebraska
6. Mystics: Nastja Claessens, Belgium
7. Lynx: Kiki Jefferson, Louisville
8. Dream: Matilde Villa, Italy
9. Wings: Ashley Owusu, Penn State
10. Sun: Abbey Hsu, Columbia
11. Liberty: Kaitlyn Davis, USC
12. Aces: Angel Jackson, Jackson State

The two newest members of the Chicago Sky, Kamilla Cardosa and Angel Reese, have sent messages to Sky fans.

They both are excited to get to work. And with training camp beginning on April 28, it won’t be a long wait to see them both in action.

Young Kwak/AP

The Sky’s final pick of the night was the first pick of the second round and with it they selected Gonzaga guard Brynna Maxwell.

Maxwell transferred to Gonzaga after three years at Utah.

In her fifth season, she averaged 14.2 points and 2.9 rebounds for the Zags. Maxwell’s addition sets up an even more competitive training camp in Chicago. The Sky currently have 11 players under contract, three are signed to training camp contracts.

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Watch the reactions of fans at the Sky watch party in Chicago. Sky fans are pumped.

The Sky have added some serious post players through the draft.

After she was drafted with the No. 3 pick, Kamilla Cardoso, was asked about playing with her new teammate Angel Reese.

“Nobody is going to get any rebounds on us.”

Cardoso is 6-foot-7 and Reese is 6-foot-3.

Sarah Stier/Getty

Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca was still making moves 24 hours before the WNBA draft.

The No. 8 pick he traded for during free agency was great, but the Sky’s second target of the night was not going to fall to the No. 8 spot. So, on Sunday morning, the first-year general manager executed a trade with the Minnesota Lynx to secure the No. 7 pick.

With it, the Sky selected Angel Reese.

Read more here:

Adam Hunger/AP Photos

NEW YORK — The Sky have selected the No. 3 overall pick four times in franchise history.

Their first was Arminitie Herrington in 2007. Next came Kristi Toliver in 2009. The Sky’s third-ever No. 3 overall pick was the franchise’s most impactful, Courtney Vandersloot. In 2018 they drafted Diamond DeShields who is still playing for the team today.

Monday night was their fifth when the Sky selected Kamilla Cardoso with the third pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Read more here.

Caitlin Clark’s crusade from college phenom to WNBA rookie officially begins May 14 against the Connecticut Sun after the Iowa guard was selected by the Indiana Fever with the No. 1 overall pick Monday night.

In her first month Clark will go up against some of the league’s best backcourts, including the New York Liberty’s Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu, the Storm’s Jewell Loyd and Skylar Diggins-Smith and the Aces’ Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.

Read more here.

There was no surprise with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.

Caitlin Clark was, of course, the name called by the Indiana Fever Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music just as everyone predicted and expected.

In her four seasons at Iowa, Clark broke 45 total records between Big Ten play, the NCAA overall and Tournament play. Clark averaged 31.6 points, 8.9 assists and 7.4 rebounds her senior year and led the Hawkeyes to their second straight NCAA Title game. Most notable was the history Clark made night after night, whether on the court or with the record-breaking number of fans who showed up to see her play.

Read the full story here.

Fans of the Chicago Sky have gathered at Revolution Brewing Taproom (3340 N. Kedzie Ave.) to watch the WNBA Draft.

Coach Teresa Weatherspoon and general manager Jeff Pagliocca operate the Sky’s draft room there and address the fans and media this evening.

Our reporter Kyle Williams is on the scene. Check back for his updates.

More players arrived at the WNBA Draft on Monday.

Kamilla Cardoso, 6 foot 7, Brazilian-born center who played at South Carolina, arrived to the draft in a power-red pantsuit.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Cameron Brink, the forward from Stanford, who is expected to be drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks, arrived in a black-and-white, off shoulder dress.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Dyaisha Fair, the 5 foot 5 guard from Syracuse, the shortest player in the draft, arrived in a traditional tuxedo with red bow tie.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

More player arrivals walking the WNBA’s orange carpet ahead of the draft.

Connecticut guard Nika Muhl arrived in a black, cropped jacket paired with a black tea-length skirt. However, the most notable feature with her bejeweled teeth bearing the initials “ZG” to honor her hometown of Zagreb, Croatia.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Sarah Stier/Getty

Angel Reese, the forward from LSU, walked the orange carpet in a low-cut, draping metallic gown with head covering.

Sarah Stier/Getty

Aaliyah Edwards, the forward from UConn, arrived wearing a white dress and her signature purple-and-gold braids that honor her idol Kobe Bryant. She accessorized the dress with a small basketball-shaped, glittery, orange purse.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Presumptive top pick Caitlin Clark arrived at the WNBA Draft and walked the orange carpet dressed in Prada — jacket, top, skirt, sunglasses and purse.

The Iowa superstar said it was the first time Prada had ever dressed an athlete for the draft — NBA or WNBA.

Here’s her look.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

The WNBA Draft begins just over two hours, but the player arrivals have begun at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Caitlin Clark, the presumptive, top-overall pick arrives first wearing white.

Angel Reese, the Bayou Barbie from LSU, makes her arrival

Rickea Jackson, the Tennessee Lady Vol, arrives looking like a music icon from the 1990s.

Stanford’s Cameron Brink arrives in a long, black-and-white dress:

And Kamilla Cardoso earns a loudest ovation as she makes her arrival in red.

LSU star Angel Reese appears to be making the most of the festivities ahead of the 2024 WNBA Draft.

The “Bayou Barbie,” who is touring the city with her fellow prospects Monday, shared pictures from 86 floors up atop the Empire State Building to her Instagram, including the caption “whole lotta buckets” to represent the historical capabilities of the WNBA’s 2024 draft class.

Instagram

After the Sky traded up in the draft order, acquiring the No. 7 pick from the Lynx, Reese’s chances of ending up in Chicago seem even higher than a couple days ago.

Wherever she ends up, the LSU faithful in Baton Rouge will be cheering her on.

NBA legend Dwyane Wade, a Chicagoan who joined the Sky’s ownership group last year, posted on X about his excitement for the club to be welcoming some new top talent this spring.

“It feels so good knowing the time is coming, and the level is about to level up even more,” Wade says. “To be able to have the generational talent of Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, so many of the others ... we’re in a rebuilding stage, you gotta be excited to try to get back to being ... the WNBA champions.”

Every WNBA mock draft says the same thing at the top: The Indiana Fever will take Iowa’s Caitlin Clark first overall. The real intrigue starts after that, although most of the media expects the Sparks to take Cameron Brink with the second pick.

Here’s how different outlets project the top picks:

ESPN

1. Fever — Caitlin Clark
2. Sparks — Cameron Brink
3. Sky — Kamilla Cardoso
4. Sparks — Rickea Jackson
5. Wings — Aaliyah Edwards
6. Mystics — Jacy Sheldon
7. Sky — Angel Reese

The Athletic

1. Fever — Caitlin Clark
2. Sparks — Cameron Brink
3. Sky — Rickea Jackson
4. Sparks — Kamilla Cardoso
5. Wings — Jacy Sheldon
6. Mystics — Aaliyah Edwards

CBS Sports

1. Fever — Caitlin Clark
2. Sparks — Cameron Brink
3. Sky — Kamilla Cardoso
4. Sparks — Rickea Jackson
5. Wings — Aaliyah Edwards
6. Mystics — Jacy Sheldon
7. Sky — Angel Reese

Caitlin Clark and the other WNBA draftees are making the rounds in New York City before the draft begins Monday.

During the morning, they stopped by the Empire State Building, where Clark and Kamilla Cardoso flipped the switch to turn the iconic skyscraper’s lighting orange.

The players also went to the top of the building to take some photos while overlooking the city on a pleasantly sunny day.