If the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season is any indication, the WNBA is primed for its most exciting and most watched season yet.
College stars like Caitlin Clark, the top overall pick in the 2024 draft by the Indiana Fever who broke all sorts of records during her career at Iowa; Angel Reese, who led LSU to the 2023 NCAA championship; and Kamilla Cardoso, who just led South Carolina to this year’s national championship, captivated the nation with their skills and personality and now embark on their professional careers.
The rookies enter a league that already features the best pro basketball players in the world, players who are hungry to show off their talents to new viewers who might be checking out the WNBA for the first time. But the primary goal is to contend for a championship, and with only 12 teams in the league and a short schedule – further compressed by the break for the 2024 Summer Olympics – every game matters.
The Olympic break runs from July 21-August 14, and many WNBA players will be heading to Paris, and not just with Team USA. To prepare for the Olympics, the U.S. team will play a squad of WNBA All-Stars on Saturday, July 20, in Phoenix during All-Star weekend, providing a great chance to see the best players in the league before the playoffs begin Sept. 22.
There are some regular-season games you will want to circle on your calendar and carve out time to watch on TV or attend. Whether you are tuning in for Clark and the new rookie class or to see if the Las Vegas Aces can successfully defend their 2023 title, here are 10 games to watch in the 2024 WNBA season:
10 games to watch in 2024 season
(Games in chronological order; all times Eastern)
Tuesday, May 14
Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun, 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2
We have to start with opening night and Clark’s debut with Indiana, but there will be no easing into the league for the No. 1 overall pick. Clark, Aliyah Boston (the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year), and the Fever travel to Connecticut to face a battle-tested Sun team led by 2023 MVP runner-up Alyssa Thomas, arguably the toughest and most versatile player in the league.
Saturday, May 18
Los Angeles Sparks at Las Vegas Aces, 3 p.m. | ABC
The new-look Sparks, who may have had the best draft night after selecting forward Cameron Brink with the No. 2 overall pick and forward Rickea Jackson at No. 4, face a very early test against the reigning WNBA champions, whose roster remains stacked with 2022 MVP A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray.
Friday, May 31
Dallas Wings at Connecticut Sun, 7:30 p.m. | Ion
Arike Ogunbowale, who ranked fifth in the league in scoring last season, leads Dallas into Connecticut for a matchup of teams that finished third (Sun) and fourth (Wings) in the league last season.
Saturday, June 15
New York Liberty at Las Vegas Aces, 3 p.m. | ABC
The first rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals will take place in Las Vegas when reigning MVP Breanna Stewart, 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and the Liberty face the star-studded Aces.
Sunday, June 16
Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever, Noon | CBS
Your first chance to see Clark and Angel Reese, the No. 7 pick in the draft, face each other as pros when the Fever host the Sky. As an added bonus, you can watch two former South Carolina centers face off when Aliyah Boston battles Chicago’s No. 3 overall pick Kamilla Cardoso.
Seattle Storm at Phoenix Mercury, 3 p.m. | ABC
Why not take in a doubleheader and one with some controversy to boot? Skylar Diggins-Smith, who signed with Seattle as a free agent after a bitter exit from the Mercury, returns to Phoenix for the first time as the Storm face Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. Diggins-Smith completes a new-look Seattle team that also features 2023 scoring leader Jewell Lloyd and 2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike, who also signed with the Storm as a free agent following a long career in Los Angeles.
Sunday, June 30
Atlanta Dream at New York Liberty, 1 p.m. | ESPN
Atlanta added a former MVP in the offseason when Tina Charles signed with the Dream. Now, Charles, a native New Yorker, will be back in her old stomping grounds along with 2022 Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard as the Liberty host the Dream.
Indiana Fever at Phoenix Mercury, 3 p.m. | ESPN
The Mercury had already hyped this matchup before Indiana drafted Clark as “The Goat vs. The Rook.” The Goat being Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer and champion trash talker who will be 42 years old when this game takes place.
Wednesday, Sept. 11
Seattle Storm at Los Angeles Sparks, 10 p.m. | WNBA League Pass
Another game featuring a big reunion when Nneka Ogwumike, who spent 12 years with the Sparks, returns to Los Angeles. And this game could have big playoff implications for the Sparks and the Storm, who each missed the postseason last year.
Thursday, Sept. 19
Indiana Fever at Washington Mystics, 7 p.m. | Amazon Prime
We won’t predict whether the Fever will make the playoffs this year, but we will tell you that this is your last chance to see Clark in a 2024 regular-season game. And if this is your first chance catching the Mystics this season, they will look decidedly different as face of the franchise Elena Delle Donne opted to step away from basketball and longtime point guard Natasha Cloud signed as a free agent with the Mercury.
Follow Ellen J. Horrow on social media @EllenJHorrow
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA 2024 season: Catilin Clark in Fever debut among 10 games to watch
