What will Clark, Reese, Jackson, more do for a WNBA encore?

Year 1 was record-seting for the WNBA’s 2024 Rookie Class. What Might Its Second Season Have in Store?

In part due to the extended Regular Season (The League Went to A 40-Game Schedule in 2023), Rookie All-Stars Caitlin Clark And ANGEL RESE Combined to set rookie records for points (clark), rebounds (reese) and associations (CLARK). Both Clark’s Assistance and Rese’s Rebound Average Also Were the Highest Ever for the first-year-old WNBA Players-and in Reese’s Case, a WNBA Recordless of Experience.

Beyond Clark and RESE, The 2024 Draft Produced Four Other Players Who Averaged at Last Seven Points Per Game Last Season: The LOS Angeles sparks duo or Cameron Brink And Rickea jacksonReese’s Chicago Sky Teammate Chamomile cardosoAnd Aaliyah edwards of the Washington mystics.

With a year of wnba experience and a full offseason boy them, plus additional veteran help, let’s look at how we can experience that players to grow and improve on The weaker spots in their game during the 2025 campaign, which starts friday.

More Weapons for Clark

In the wake of clark bee nameed rookie of the year, earning all-wnba first-team honors and leading the Indiana Fever To the playoffs for the first time Since 2016, Her Team become a Favored Destination in Free Agency. Indiana Loaded Up With Two of the Top Players to Change Teams in Six-Time All-Star Dewanna Bonner And 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard.

With Those Additions, Clark Enters the Season as The Favorite for MVP at ASPN BETahead of three-time mvp A’ja wilson And 2024 MVP Runner-up Napheesa collier. If Clark Were to Win MVP, She would be the last experience winner Since CANDACE PARKER In her rookie season in 2008.

It top Breanna stewartWho has combined to win five of the past seven mvps, until year 3 in the league to realy that level. And neither had to take down a winner in her Prime as established as Wilson is. The year Before Stewart Won for the first time in 2018, Sylvia fowles Won her only mvp at age 31. Elena delle DonneThe MVP The year Before Wilson Won for the first time in 2020, was unable to particular during that “Wubble” Season-With Its Neutral-Seek Setting-Due To Medical Concerns.

Realistically, I’d consider booth wilson and collier more like to win mvp, but clark’s status as Favorite is indicative of the expectitions for her second wnba season. To a degree, Clark’s Monster Performance over the last 20 Games of Her Rookie Year (22.3 points, 10.0 assists, 5.7 Rebounds Per Game) Might be different to Maintain – For Good Reasons.

Become the fever added Two Scoring Threats in Bonner (15.0 PPG Last Season) and Howard (17.6 PPG) to their starting, Plus Sixth Woman Sophie Cunningham (8.4 PPG in 2024 But Double Figures the Previous Two Seasons), there will be fewer plays to go island. Based on my projected Rotation for Indiana, Players’ usage rates will need to drop an available of 3% from what we’d otherwise.

Although that changed not be distributed equally, the fever is right to take some of the Load Off Clark, who ranked second in the wnba in total minutes as a rookie (1,416), Behind Only Ariko Springile. On the flip side, that could produce better effective for clark. She Shot 39% on Catch-And-Shoot 3S Last Season, Per Geniusiq Tracking, as compared to 32.5% on Pull-up attempts. Clark Took More than Twice as many Pull-up 3S (231, easily the most in the league) as Catch-And-Shoot Ones (114). Evening out that Ratio could be hep clark IMPROVE IN AN ARA that is a strength.

Clark’s Biggest Elp could Ultimately be in the playoffs. As the no. 6 seed, Indiana was swept by the third-seeded Connecticut SUN Without getting a home game last season. With boner and howard, the fever are now favorites to earn home-corporation advantage in the opening round and win a playoff series for the first time with the 2015 wnba finals. Clark has always shined on the biggest stages and now has a team capable of getting her own there as a pro.

Raised Expectations for RESE

Over the past year, rice has thrived off low expectitions for her individual and hertime. After slipping to the no. 7 Pick of the WNBA DRAFT, RESE JOINED A SKY TEAM That WAS Expected to be Among the League’s World After Trading All-Star Kahleah copper. Propelled by Rese’s All-Star Debut, Chicago Instead Stayed in the Hunt for a Playoff Spot Until the final week of the sea.

That paled in comparison to the surprise rose’s rose bc team Pulled off in unrivaled this spring. Ranked Last in My Preseason Projections-Which Were Based on WNBA PLAY AND NOT 3-in-3 Format Used by Unrivaled-Rose Went 8-6 to Finish Second in the Standings and Won the Inaugural Unrivaled Championship. Although reae was unable to compete in the playoffs Due to a hand injury, she won defensive player of the year.

Now, the reae can hope to get the sky back to the playoffs after a two-year absence. Having added Veteran Guards Arele atkins And Courtney vandersloot This offseason, chicago has been given 50-50 odds of finishing in the top eight At Espn Bet. With Atkins and Vandersloot, Plus fellow newcomers Reecca Allen And Kia nurseThe sky will put more modern floor spacing around reese and cardoso in the frontcourt after attending just 14.9 3-pointers per game Last Season, more than there Fewer Than Other Wnba Team.

In particular, Vandersloot’s PlayMaking Ability Should Benefit RESE BY SETTING HER Up for More Easy Finishes. RESE MADE 44% OF HER POTENTIAL ASSIST OPportunities Last Season, Per Geniusiq. On Self-Created Shots without an Assist Oppportunity, RESE Shot Just 35%, Producing the Lowest EFFECTIVE FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE FOR ANY PLAYER WITH AT LEST 100 ACCORDING TO GENIUSIQ.

Improved space also will help Give Cardoso more room to operate in the post. Per Geniusiq, Cardoso’s 11.2 Post-ups Per 100 Possessions as a Rookie Ranked Third Most Among WNBA Regulars, Behind Brittney grins And Tina Charles. Cardoso was produced in Two Preseason Games Against The Minnesota LynxCombining for 23 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in 42 minutes of action.

About the only downside for reae is that an improved sky offense could mean Fewer rebound opportunities after she joined Yolanda griffith As just the second player in League History to Average at Leave Festival Offensive Rebounds Per Game Last Season. That’s a Tradeoff RESE will be right right.

Plum joins Jackson, Brink

Like chicago and indiana, los angeles was aggressive in free agency, trading the no. 2 Draft Pick as Part of a Three-Team Deal that Landed Kelsey plum With the sparks via sign-and-trade. That could mean a small role on offense for jackson, who finished third among rookies at 13.4 ppg.

Nonetheless, Jackson is the Presson Favorite for Most Improved Player At Espn Bet, with Two Other 2024 Draft Picks (Edwards and Cardoso) in the Top Five. That would make a change from recent precedent. Jonquel Jones in 2017 was the last second-year plan to be named most improved player, though jones was the three sophomore to win in a for-year span back then.

Los angeles adds plum to a team that returns six of seven leading scorers, with only Lexie brown (traded to the Seattle Storm) Missing. The sparks also could get full seasons from Odyssey Simsa late-Season Pickup, and Azura stevensWho missed half of 2024 due to left arm surgery. Los angeles also expects to get brink back around the one-year anniversary of the left aCl Tear She suffered June 18.

The no. 2 Pick Last Year, Brink was off to a slow start offensively, shooting 40% from the field. But her size made the 6-foot-4 brink one of the league’s top rim protectors from day one. The 9% of Opponent 2-Point Attempts Brink Blocked Were Far And Away Most In The League, with Nobody Else Cracking even 7%. Having her back on the court short help the sparks improve a defense that ranked 10th on a PER-MPOSSION BASIS.

With Plum Offering Another Ballhandling Option, Jackson’s Development as a Shooter with Take Take Center Stage in Year 2. year at Tennessee. If jackson can maintain or improve on that shooting, los angeles’ offense could be different to stop.

EDWARDS PART of Youth Movement

By contrast to the other tims in the 2024 Lottery, the mystics didn “Load up this offseason.” Washington Went the Other Direction, Trading Atkins to Chicago and Veteran Karlie samuelson To the lynx. Remarkably, Edwardsear has the Fifth-Longest Tenure of any mystics player.

The offseason makeover has left washton heavy in the frontcourt. The mystics have two starting-calliber centers in Shakira austin And Stefanie dolson -Who Teamed up in the Starting Five when Austin was Healthy Last Season-Along with back-to-back first-round picks at Power Forward in Edwards and Rookie Kiki Iriafen. Emily engstler And PigWho played Well Late Last Season, are also in the mix.

Unfortunately, that Depthier has been tested by injuries. Austin is day-to-day with a right leg injury, while edwards have been siting outs of the start of may due to a lower back content. The mystics announce edwards would be reevaluated in Two Weeks, putting her availability for the season opener in question.

Assuming Edwards Returns Soon, We’l See Whether She Can Translate The Skills That Led Her To An Unlikely Run to the Finals of Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 Tournament. EDWARDS TOOK DOWN TWO NO. 1 Seeds-Stewart and Ogunbowale-in the tourney as well as all-star Allisha gray. EDWARDS Also Shot 56% in Unrivaled Games. Although Her 49% Shooting Was Second in the WNBA Last Season Among Rookies Behind Cardoso, Edwards Needs to Be Eff: 0-Fore And rarely get to the foul line.