NEW YORK — There is a buzz around the opening of WNBA training camps this weekend with the arrival of former University of Iowa star Caitlin Clark, the rest of a heralded rookie class and major offseason free agency moves that included former All-Stars Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike landing in Seattle.
In addition to the league's success last year, practices will begin Sunday on the heels of an unprecedented season of women's college basketball. The momentum led to record-setting viewership of the WNBA draft earlier this month, season ticket sales have skyrocketed, and rookie jerseys for Clark and former LSU star Angel Reese — picked seventh overall by the Chicago Sky — have already sold out.
But amid all of the excitement there is a stark reality looming: Of the 36 players drafted on April 15, many won't make an opening day roster as there are fewer than 144 spots available in the league.
"You know, the hardest part of this conversation every year is the reality that second- and third-round picks have a really hard time making WNBA rosters," ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said. "First-round picks that go late have a hard time making WNBA rosters. We talk about a league of 144. It's not a league of 144. Many of these teams only carry 11 players, and maybe by the end of the season they can carry a 12th."
The numbers make for a grim outlook: Only 19 of the players drafted in 2023 appeared in at least one game during the season. Since 2018, 142 of 216 draft picks (65.7%) have played in an WNBA game at some point in their career.
That's not a concern for Clark, who will begin her first camp with big expectations placed on her after getting drafted No. 1 by the Indiana Fever. The 6-foot guard is the overwhelming favorite to win rookie of the year and to finish in the top five in MVP voting, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. She finished her historic college career with the Hawkeyes, the national runners-up the past two years, as all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball.
In Indiana, she will play alongside 6-5 post Aliyah Boston, who was the 2023 WNBA rookie of the year, giving the Fever a potent inside-outside combination.
Boston and Clark already have created some off-court chemistry from the time the former South Carolina standout spent as an analyst for the Big Ten Network. How quickly that translates to the floor on game day will be a major factor in how far the Fever can go this season.
But it isn't just rookies who will be looking to establish chemistry during training camps. The Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm made major moves in the offseason as they try and get back to the top of the league, which has been dominated by the Las Vegas Aces the past few years.
The Storm signed Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike to complement Jewell Loyd, and the team also opened a state of the art practice facility. Seattle went 11-29 in 2023, with that .275 winning percentage the franchise's worst since its expansion season of 2000.
"You try to figure out how to play with players that you hate guarding or playing against," Diggins-Smith said. "My option one, plan A was playing with (Loyd and Ogwumike). That's really important at this point of my career, is to be around people that know me. Jewell knows me, and Nneka knows me."
The Mercury added Natasha Cloud and Kahleah Copper to pair with Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi.
Taurasi, who turns 42 in June, will begin her 20th and potentially last season in the WNBA. While the league's all-time leading scorer hasn't officially said this will be her final year, she has said her time playing is waning.
"Probably not much longer," she said in February. "All good stories come to an end."
Taurasi will be playing for a new coach this year as the Mercury hired former longtime NBA assistant Nate Tibbets. The league's other new coach this season is Teresa Weatherspoon, who took over the Chicago Sky.
Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon and the Aces, who have their starting five back from last season, open camp with a third straight WNBA championship on their minds.
The regular season tips off on May 14, with the WNBA taking a break in late July for the Paris Olympics. Play will resume in mid-August with another month of competition to set up the playoffs, which will go into late October.