The 2024 WNBA rookie class has been the most covered in the history of the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will finish at the top of the Rookie of the Year voting, but the class’s influence on the WNBA goes far beyond what happens on the court. It’ll go down in history as the class that welcomed new fans, attention and an unprecedented amount of excitement to the league.
To better understand where the league is today, it’s important to learn about where it was. Analyzing rookie classes from history, it was a lot easier for rookies to have an immediate impact on their teams before the league became more global in nature.
The 2024 Olympics have WNBA players scattered throughout the rosters. For example, current and former WNBA players make up the entire starting lineup for Australia. Lauren Jackson, a former WNBA player and legend, is a 43-year-old coming off the bench for New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello.
This simply wasn’t the case in the first half of the WNBA’s existence.
For Part I, the top-five rookie classes from 2001-2014 will be ranked and evaluated.
For Part II, the current rookie class will be ranked among classes from the last 10 seasons.
Criteria
The WNBA was formed in 1997.
Technically, 100 percent of qualifying players (using Basketball Reference’s “WNBA Rate Statistic Requirements” and adjusting for the number of games played in the WNBA regular season each season) that season were considered “rookies”. The percentage of rookies remained high until 2001. Since then, rookies have represented about 16 percent of the qualifying players in the league.
Therefore, every rookie class since 2001 was evaluated using the five-member All-Rookie teams (Note: due to a tie in voting, the All-Rookie teams from 2008 and 2015 have six members instead of five). Head coaches vote on All-Rookie and cannot vote for their own players, and the team is positionless.
The first All-Rookie team was selected in 2005. For classes before 2005, the Rookie of the Year voting and individual statistics were used to select the top five rookies in each season.
Each player was evaluated on their rookie season only in order to compare with players in recent classes. Immediate star power, basic and advanced statistics via Basketball Reference, league awards and team impact were analyzed.
For example, current Connecticut Sun star and USA Olympian Alyssa Thomas’s accolades after her rookie season do not factor into the ranking of her class. She was a member of the All-Rookie team in 2014 but did not receive any votes for Rookie of the Year after posting relatively modest statistics compared to her more recent seasons.
Top 5 Rookie Classes (2001-2014)
Each class is ordered by Rookie of the Year voting, with the winner at the top. Those outside the voting were ordered by win shares (WS). Statistics are per-game averages unless otherwise noted.
1. Class of 2002
Tamika Catchings (IND): 18.6 PTS, 8.6 REB, 3.7 AST, 2.9 STL, 1.3 BLK
Tamika Catchings, in her rookie year, had one of the greatest seasons in the history of the WNBA.
After an illustrious career at Tennessee, where she won a national championship in 1998 and earned the Naismith College Player of the Year Award in 2000, the 6-foot-1 forward was drafted third overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2001 WNBA Draft. She was forced to sit out the 2001 season with an ACL injury, so her rookie season was pushed to 2002.
All she did was light the WNBA on fire.
A year after going 10-22, the Fever improved to 16-16 in 2002 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Her 9.2 WS led the league by 2.1. It is fourth all-time when adjusted for the maximum number of regular-season games played (as it has fluctuated throughout history). Not just for rookies, but for anyone who has ever played in the WNBA.
To put that in perspective, the Fever’s unanimous 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston had 6.0 WS in a 40-game regular season (178th all-time in adjusted win shares, or aWS). Indiana’s potential 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark currently has 1.2 WS in 26 games (1510th all-time in aWS).
Catchings was third in MVP voting in her rookie season, second in Defensive Player of the Year, and was named First Team All-WNBA. She filled up the stat sheet by leading the league in steals and was second in scoring, fourth in rebounding, tenth in assists and sixth in blocks.
She also led the league in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) at 30.9. Only 19 players in history have had a PER of over 30, and Catchings is the only true rookie (2001-2024) to do it.
Amazingly, Catchings wasn’t the only rookie named First Team All-WNBA.
Sue Bird (SEA): 14.4 PTS, 6.0 AST
The Seattle Storm’s Sue Bird lived up to her first overall selection in the 2002 draft.
As a prototypical point guard at UConn, Bird led Auriemma’s Huskies to two national championships. She was named Naismith College Player of the Year in 2002.
The Storm went from 10-22 before Bird’s arrival to 17-15 in her rookie season. Bird, like Catchings, led her new team to their first playoff appearance in franchise history. Bird finished second in the league in assists, was eighth in steals and sixth with 4.8 WS.
She finished an impressive fifth in MVP voting. There haven’t been two rookies in the top five in MVP voting since Catchings and Bird in 2002.
But they weren’t the only rookies to receive votes.
Swin Cash (DET): 14.8 PTS, 6.9 REB, 1.2 STL, 1.0 BLK
Bird’s college teammate Swin Cash, the second overall pick by the Detroit Shock (now the Dallas Wings) in 2002, was 17th in MVP voting after finishing in the top 15 in the league in points, rebounds and blocks.
Nikki Teasley (LAS): 6.4 PTS, 4.4 AST
North Carolina’s Nikki Teasley was selected fifth overall by the Portland Fire (a WNBA franchise from 2000-2002), but she was immediately traded to Los Angeles for Ukari Figgs. Figgs was a key member of the 2001 Sparks, starting 36 of 39 total games. The Sparks finished 28-4 in the regular season that season and won the WNBA championship.
Teasley took advantage of the hole in the lineup left by Figgs. Teasley finished in the top ten in the league in assists and three-point percentage. The Sparks finished the 2002 regular season with a league-leading 25 wins. They blitzed through the playoffs – winning all six games to capture their second-straight championship. Teasley started all 38 games.
Tamika Williams (MIN): 10.1 PTS, 7.4 REB
Tamika Williams was selected by the Minnesota Lynx with the sixth overall selection. She was the fourth member of Auriemma’s 2002 National Championship UConn team selected in the top six (Asjha Jones was selected fourth overall).
Williams finished her UConn career with an incredible 70.3 percent field-goal percentage. That is still the NCAA Division I record. Her efficiency translated to the WNBA, as Williams finished second in the league with a 56.1 percent field-goal percentage. She also finished in the top ten in rebounding and was 20th in with 3.7 WS.
2. Class of 2008
Candace Parker (LAS): 18.5 PTS, 9.5 REB, 3.4 AST, 1.3 STL, 2.3 BLK
Candace Parker entered the league in 2008 with preposterous expectations.
She was the first high-school female ever to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award twice. At the McDonald’s All-American Game, she won the slam-dunk contest as the only female and was the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game. She led Tennessee to two-straight national championships in 2007 and 2008 and was named Naismith College Player of the Year in 2008.
After being selected first overall by Los Angeles in the 2008 WNBA Draft, certainly there was a target on her back similar to the one on Caitlin Clark’s back.
Yet somehow, Parker exceeded all expectations in her rookie season. She became the first and only rookie since 2001 to be named MVP. She helped the Sparks double their win total from the previous season and led the proud franchise back to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.
With 2008 being an Olympic year, the WNBA took a break during the season and Parker was selected to play for Team USA. She was the youngest member of the gold-medal-winning team. She played in all eight games and led the team in free throws made (FTM) and free throws attempted (FTA).
When the WNBA regular season resumed, she didn’t miss a beat. She led the league in rebounding, ranked fifth in scoring, and was second in PER at 27.4. Her 7.7 WS led the league and is the second most all-time for a rookie behind Catchings’s 9.2.
Parker was also second in the league in blocks behind teammate Lisa Leslie. Leslie finished first in defensive win shares (DWS) with 3.2 and Parker was second with 3.0. No other player had more than 2.5 DWS. Leslie won her second Defensive Player of the Year Award, and Parker finished fourth. Both are in the top 25 all-time in adjusted DWS in a single season.
Candice Wiggins (MIN): 15.7 PTS, 3.2 REB, 3.0 AST, 1.8 STL
Stanford’s Candice Wiggins was selected third overall by Minnesota.
The Lynx improved their win total by six with Wiggins providing a spark off the bench. She became the first of only two rookies named Sixth Woman of the Year (DeWanna Bonner, 2009), and she even got votes for MVP.
Wiggins finished in the top 20 in scoring and was second in free throws made and attempted. She was also 11th in WS with 4.5 and her 23.1 PER was eighth.
Nicky Anosike (MIN): 9.2 PTS, 6.8 REB, 2.2 STL, 1.3 BLK
Wiggins’s Lynx teammate and Parker’s college teammate Nicky Anosike was a second-round pick for the Lynx.
The 6-foot-3 post started all 34 games for the Lynx and had a knack for drawing fouls. Anosike had a free-throw rate (FTr) of 0.735 which is the third highest in league history behind Nakia Sanford in 2007 and Liz Cambage in 2013.
Anosike made the Lynx management look brilliant for being able to steal her later in the draft. This was especially true on the defensive end as she took fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. Anosike was 11th in blocks and seventh with 1.9 DWS. Her 4.3 WS is currently the 16th most by a rookie in history.
She also finished second in the league in steals behind college teammate and fellow rookie Alexis Hornbuckle. Although Hornbuckle was not on the All-Rookie Team, she did place third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Sylvia Fowles (CHI): 10.5 PTS, 7.5 REB, 1.1 STL, 2.1 BLK
The second overall pick in the 2008 draft was LSU’s dominant post Sylvia Fowles.
After a solid start to the season, Fowles suffered a knee injury and missed 17 games. She did come back and finished the year strong by scoring in double-figures in eight straight games. Her 17.8 percent total rebound percentage ranked third in the league, and she was third in blocks behind Leslie and Parker.
Despite only playing in a total of 17 games, Fowles made quite an impression. She was named First Team All-Defense, finished eighth in Defensive Player of the Year, and was one of three rookies to receive MVP votes. The 2008 rookie class is one of three classes that have had more than one rookie receive MVP votes (three in 2002, two in 2004).
Matee Ajavon (HOU): 8.0 PTS
The fifth overall pick by the Houston Comets (winners of the first three WNBA championships, the franchise folded after the 2008 season) was Matee Ajavon of Rutgers.
She finished fourth in the league with a 27.6 percent USG% (Clark leads all rookies this year with a 26.3 percent USG%).
Amber Holt (CON): 6.5 PTS, 3.1 REB
Ajavon was named to the All-Rookie Team along with the ninth overall pick Amber Holt of Middle Tennessee.
Holt was the only member of a solid Connecticut Sun team to start every regular-season game. The Sun finished 21-13, only one game out of first in the Eastern Conference.
3. Class of 2006
Seimone Augustus (MIN): 21.9 PTS, 3.8 REB
The talent was evident from the beginning. The 2006 All-Rookie Team was comprised of five of the top six picks in the draft.
Top overall pick Seimone Augustus was a scoring machine for the young Lynx. The LSU product averaged 21.9 points which is still a WNBA rookie record. At that time, only three other players (Diana Taurasi, Katie Smith and Cynthia Cooper) averaged more in a season. Her 30.4 percent USG% was third in the league and her PER of 22.7 was 10th. Her usage percentage is second all-time amongst rookies.
Despite playing for a last-place team, Augustus was named Second Team All-WNBA and is one of 17 rookies to ever receive MVP votes.
Cappie Pondexter (PHO): 19.5 PTS, 3.3 REB, 3.1 AST, 1.2 STL
The Phoenix Mercury drafted Rutgers guard Cappie Pondexter with the second pick to pair with four-time All-WNBA member Diana Taurasi.
If it weren’t for Augustus, Pondexter would be the current record-holder for points per game as a rookie. She finished fourth in the league in points and was top 20 in free-throw percentage, three-point percentage, and PER (22.1).
She had 4.8 WS – the tenth most in the league and 0.9 WS ahead of Augustus. It is currently the 11th most WS by a rookie, ahead of stars like Bird, Taurasi, A’ja Wilson and Lauren Jackson.
Sophia Young-Malcolm (SAS): 12.0 PTS, 7.6 REB, 1.7 STL
Sophia Young-Malcolm was picked fourth by the San Antonio Silver Stars (now the Las Vegas Aces) after leading Baylor to a national championship in 2005. With the versatile 6-foot-1 forward starting all 34 games, the Silver Stars improved their record by six wins. Young-Malcolm finished sixth in the league in rebounding and 10th in steals.
Monique Currie (CHA): 10.0 PTS, 3.9 REB, 1.0 STL
Drafted one spot ahead of Young-Malcolm was Monique Currie of Duke.
Starting in 33 of the 34 games for the Charlotte Sting (a team that would end up folding following the 2006 season). Charlotte improved their win total by five as Currie finished fourth in the league with 4.4 FTM. Her 0.702 FTr led the league and is the third highest for a rookie all-time.
Candice Dupree (CHI): 13.7 PTS, 5.5 REB
The Chicago Sky selected Temple forward Candice Dupree with the sixth overall pick.
She finished in the top 20 in the league in points, total rebounds, total steals and total blocks.
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Augustus, Pondexter, Young-Malcolm and Dupree were all named All-Stars as rookies. They were four of the 18 players in 2006 to play more than 1,000 minutes.
4. Class of 2004
Diana Taurasi (PHO): 17.0 PTS, 4.4 REB, 3.9 AST, 1.3 STL
The 2002 UConn Huskies is one of the greatest teams in the history of college basketball.
The Huskies went 39-0 and won every game but one — a nine-point win in January — by double-digits. Four of UConn’s starters were drafted in the top six of the 2002 WNBA Draft.
The fifth starter wasn’t draft eligible. Diana Taurasi had a couple more national championships to win at UConn. When she finally got to the league, she picked up where she left off at UConn. The Phoenix Mercury drafted Taurasi first overall. She was tasked with bringing the Mercury back to relevance after a dismal eight-win season. She helped lead the Mercury to 17 wins, one of the greatest turnarounds in league history.
Taurasi was top ten in the league in points, assists, PER and WS. She was third with a 29.6 percent USG%. Only four other rookies in history have ever had a higher usage percentage. She was named First Team All-WNBA and finished third in MVP voting.
Another rookie in 2004 made a massive impact on her team.
Alana Beard (WAS): 13.1 PTS, 4.2 REB, 2.7 AST, 2.0 STL, 1.0 BLK
The Washington Mystics selected Duke guard Alana Beard with the second pick.
They went from nine wins in 2003 to 17 in 2004, and Beard was the only Mystics player to start in every game.
After losing perennial All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw to an ankle injury with ten games left, Beard led the Mystics to the playoffs with a team-high 3.3 WS. She was in the top 20 in the WNBA in points and assists. She also was in the top 20 in three-point percentage, PER and usage percentage.
Her presence was especially felt on the defensive end. She finished third in the league in steals and is one of three true rookies in history to average at least two steals and at least one block (Tamika Catchings in 2002, Nicky Anosike in 2008). She was fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and also received votes for MVP.
Nicole Ohlde (MIN): 11.7 PTS, 5.7 REB, 1.3 BLK
Nicole Ohlde was selected by Minnesota with the sixth pick.
The 6-foot-5 post from Kansas State started all 36 games for the Lynx, including their two playoff games. She was in the top 20 in rebounds, blocks, field-goal percentage and free throws made and attempted. She finished with 3.9 WS, good for 14th in the league.
Lindsay Whalen (CON): 8.9 PTS, 4.8 AST, 1.3 STL
The Connecticut Sun drafted Minnesota guard Lindsay Whalen with the fourth pick.
She took over point-guard duties right away and started in 30 of her 31 regular-season games and all eight playoff games.
With their backs against the wall, the Sun turned to her in Game 2 of their opening series against Washington. She delivered her best game of the season with 21 points, six assists and zero turnovers in an 80-70 win. She got to the free-throw line an extraordinary 16 times and made 15 of them.
The Sun defeated Washington in Game 3 and made it all the way to the Finals where they were defeated by Seattle. Wahlen scored in double figures in seven of the eight playoff games and averaged 13.4 points, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals – all better than her regular-season averages.
Laura Macchi (LAS): 6.1 PTS, 2.4 REB
Laura Macchi was an undrafted rookie 6-foot-1 forward from Italy who signed with Los Angeles before the 2004 season.
The Sparks were coming off a WNBA Finals appearance in 2003 and all five starters returned – including the legendary Lisa Leslie at center.
Expectations were high in 2004, but the Sparks got off to a sluggish start. They had a 3-4 record when they decided to make a change and start Macchi. The Sparks won eight of their next ten games and finished 13-2 with Macchi as a starter. She led the team and all rookies league-wide with a 58.4 percent true-shooting percentage.
Macchi left the Sparks to play for Italy in the Olympics. She wasn’t available until the Sparks’ final playoff game. By that time, it was too late. The Sacramento Monarchs (dissolved in 2009) upset Los Angeles in the first round.
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Other notable rookies in the 2004 class include future All-Stars Nicole Powell, Shameka Christon, Rebekkah Brunson and Jia Perkins.
5. Class of 2014
Chiney Ogwumike (CON): 15.5 PTS, 8.5 REB, 1.2 STL, 1.2 BLK
The 2014 Connecticut Sun needed a spark.
After a disappointing 10-24 record in 2013, they owned the first overall pick in the draft and there was a consensus number one choice available. Like her older sister and 2012 Rookie of the Year Nneka Ogwumike, Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike was a can’t-miss prospect.
She would end up starting every game for the Sun and led the team in points, field goals made, field-goal percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted, rebounds and blocks. Her 23.7 PER was seventh in the WNBA, just behind Nneka. She had the 10th most win shares in the league as well. Her 5.8 aWS is 11th all-time among true rookies.
She is one of only 10 rookies in history to average at least one block and one steal per game. The Sun won 13 games in 2014. Chiney was named to the All-Star team and was Rookie of the Year.
Odyssey Sims (TUL): 16.7 PTS, 4.2 AST, 1.3 STL
The Tulsa Shock (now the Dallas Wings) selected Baylor guard Odyssey Sims with the second overall pick.
Sims teamed up with All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith in the backcourt to create one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. Diggins-Smith led the league in minutes played, and Sims was third with 34.4 MPG.
Sims scored 16.7 PPG, sixth in the league and top 15 all-time for a rookie and right behind Taurasi’s 17.0 PPG. She also averaged 4.2 assists which was top 10 in the league.
Kayla McBride (SAS): 13.0 PTS, 1.0 STL
Kayla McBride had a magnificent college career at Notre Dame.
She was a two-time All-American who helped the Fighting Irish to four consecutive Final Four appearances and three NCAA championship games. The San Antonio Stars (now the Las Vegas Aces) drafter McBride with the third pick.
McBride was one of only 17 players in 2014 to start every regular-season game. She led the team in scoring and got the Stars back into the playoffs after missing out in 2013. Shooting has always been her strength. She was fifth in the league with 57 three-pointers made and 39.6% from three (sixth in the WNBA, one spot behind teammate Becky Hammon).
Alyssa Thomas (CON): 10.1 PTS, 5.1 REB, 1.0 STL
The Connecticut Sun’s All-Star post from 2010 to 2013 was Tina Charles.
Charles unanimously won the Rookie of the Year in 2010, was in the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting twice and won the 2012 MVP. She was named All-WNBA all four seasons.
Unfortunately for Connecticut, Charles was unhappy and wanted out. She threatened to sit out 2014 if she wasn’t traded. Coming off a 10-win season in 2013, the Sun were willing to start over. On draft day, they made the decision to trade Charles to New York for their number four pick.
That fourth pick turned out to be a pretty good one for the Sun.
Along with top pick Chiney Ogwumike, the Sun acquired Alyssa Thomas in the trade.
Later in the first round, they would select another future star in Chelsea Gray. It was quite a haul for the Sun heading into the 2014 season without Charles. Unfortunately, Gray sat out the 2014 season while recovering from a knee injury. She only played one season with the Sun in 2015. She was traded to Los Angeles before the 2016 season.
Nicknamed “The Engine,” Thomas gave the Sun fans a glimpse of the all-around talent that she was about to become. The physical 6-foot-2 forward from Maryland played over 27 minutes per game and started 28 of the 34 regular-season games. She and Ogwumike were the only two rookies in the 2014 class to average ten points and five rebounds.
Bria Hartley (WAS): 9.7 PTS, 3.1 AST
Thomas wasn’t the only rookie in 2014 involved in a draft day trade.
With the seventh pick, Seattle drafted Bria Hartley, an All-American and two-time NCAA champion at UConn. She was immediately traded to Washington. She teamed up with her college teammate and fellow rookie Stefanie Dolson.
Hartley came off the bench for four of the first five games, then started 28 of the last 29. She was second on the team in assists and finished with the Mystics’ highest assist percentage.
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An interesting note about the 2014 rookie class— the Atlanta Dream’s Shoni Shimmel was an All-Star during her 2014 rookie season. She also took fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting and third in the Sixth Person of the Year voting. The All-Rookie team did not include Shimmel.
Along with Ogwumike and Shimmel, Sims, McBride and Thomas all ended up making at least one All-Star team in their careers. The 2024 draft class also included future All-Stars Dolson, Gray and Natasha Howard.
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