WNBA Draft Lottery 2024 will be held Sunday, Dec. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. In anticipation of the event, we’re analyzing what might happen if each of the four lottery teams—the Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm—win the lottery and the No. 1 pick in a potentially-stacked 2024 WNBA Draft. Next up, the Storm.
With the Seattle Storm currently holding the fourth-best odds—104 of 1,000 chances—at winning the WNBA Draft Lottery, it got us thinking: Who should the Storm draft if they get the No. 1 pick?
Well, for starters, we don’t know who will be available to draft come springtime. But with certain players primed to be lottery picks, the ones discussed below should be safe bets, barring injury. Here are some of the best fits for the Storm if they get to draft first in the 2024 WNBA Draft:
Caitlin Clark
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When it comes to drafting, there are two strategies: draft the best available player or draft for fit. With Caitlin Clark, you get both. Seattle needs someone to run the offense with Gabby Williams likely unavailable for the 2024 campaign. What better player to draft than the best prospect in recent memory?
Clark is as close to a sure thing as you will find in this or any draft. And if the Storm don’t draft her No. 1, then the decision makers should be on the chopping block immediately.
Cameron Brink
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In case they don’t get the first pick or, for some reason, don’t like the idea of teaming up Clark with Jewell Loyd, then Cameron Brink is an incredible option. She’s been in a great system at Stanford and is having her best collegiate season, averaging 18.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
As a big, she’ll fit right in the WNBA as a dominant player who can create her own shot and be an elite shot blocker. With Brink on the Storm’s roster, it’s unlikely they’ll miss the playoffs for a second year in a row.
In 22 minutes per game this season, Cameron Brink is averaging 18.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4 combined steals and blocks
That’s kinda nuts lol
And Stanford has played a pretty strong schedule (17th in strength of schedule per BBall Reference)
— Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) December 6, 2023
Paige Bueckers
In most drafts, Paige Bueckers would be the for-sure No. 1 pick. This year, she could drop as low as five depending on a team’s wants, needs and the other players available. Even so, Bueckers is as explosive as they come from the guard position. The thought of her 19 points per game translating to the WNBA and reinvigorating the Storm must be a tantalizing proposition.
Having an entire college season under her belt after her knee surgery should relax any concerns about her health and longevity, making her a prime candidate for the top selection in the draft.
Best of the rest
On paper, this draft will be stacked! Even if the Storm don’t get the top spot, there will be great players to draft. Aaliyah Edwards from UConn is a dominant power forward, Angel Reese is a superstar in the making from LSU and Rickea Jackson, when healthy, turns Tennessee into must-see television. The draft is designed to help the bottom teams in the league get better quickly and keep parity alive and well in the W. This year, more than ever, each lottery team will have a chance of doing just that by drafting one of these up-and-coming stars.
Now, we have to see what pick the Storm will get on Sunday. Hopefully, for Seattle’s sake, they win the top selection and get to draft whoever they want come spring.