Phoenix Mercury get the third pick for the 2024 WNBA Draft.
The Phoenix Mercury are selected third in the WNBA Draft 2024. After the draw on Sunday, the Indiana Fever got the first pick in the draft. During that time, Phoenix had a 24-52 record, while Indiana had an 18-58 record.
The Fever earned the lottery over the second occasion in the team’s history. Last year, they picked Aliyah Boston, who later won WNBA Rookie Award of the Year. Also, Indiana hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2016, which is the longest WNBA gap.
Phoenix had a 27.6% chance of getting the first pick, while Indiana had a 44.2% chance. The odds for the lottery are based on the results from the last two regular seasons (2022 and 2023) added together.
After not making the playoffs, the Fever, Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks, or Seattle Storm all entered the WNBA Draft Lottery. Next in line, the Sparks will pick second, as well as the Storm will pick fourth.
A lot of experts think that Iowa center Caitlin Clark will be picked first overall. She was scoring 29.6 points each game going into Sunday.
Besides that, she gives out 7.6 assists every game. It’s up to Clark to decide if he wants to play for Iowa again next season. He has NIL obligations to Nike, Bose, or State Farm.
Clark has won the Wade Trophy, the Naismith College Player of the Year, the John R. Wooden Award, and the AP Player of the Year award most recently. Also, she was the initial player to be named Ten Ten Player for the Year by everyone.
Clark got 191 points in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, which was the most ever scored in a single NCAA tournament for both men’s and women’s teams.
However, her Hawkeyes lost to LSU within the national championship, even though Clark had 30 points and eight assists.
A lot of fake picks have Paige Bueckers picked second on the list. The UConn guard could have entered the 2023 WNBA Draft, but she chose to stay in school.
In eight games this season, she has averaged 19.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, along with 1.9 steals.
For her first season, in 2020–21, the Bueckers enjoyed one of the best college basketball years ever. She played in all 29 games and scored 20 points, had 5.7 assists, and grabbed 4.9 rebounds per game.
She won the Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy, the AP Player for the Year award, and the USBWA Player for the Year award all in her first year of college.
Even though the Huskies had a 28-2 record at the end of the season, the third-seeded Arizona Wildcats beat them in the Final Four.
Bueckers did, however, have two serious knee problems during herself sophomore and junior years.
In August 2022, Bueckers tore her ACL in her left knee while playing in a pickup game. She missed the whole season.
In her second year, 2021–22, she missed 19 games because of a broken tibia plateau and a meniscus injury in the knee on the left.
After getting better, Bueckers helped UConn make it to the Final Four that season, but they lost to South Carolina for the national title.
UConn is 5-3 so far this season, but all three of their losses have been to teams that are ranked in the top 5 for the most recent AP poll.
Bueckers can stay at UConn until 2025, even though he has no deals in Nike, Gatorade, Crocs, or StockX.
Stanford’s Cameron Brink, a forward, or Kamilla Cardoso, a center, could be a good fit with the Mercury at No. 3. Last season, the Mercury had the fewest rebounds in the league and need more strength in the front court.
This is the first time since 2012 that Phoenix did not make the playoffs after finishing last in the WNBA with a 9-31 record. The No. 3 overall pick is going to assist the team.
The Mercury hired Nate Tibbetts as their first-year coach in October after an extensive tenure as an NBA assistant coach.
They also hired Nick U’Ren to the Golden State Warriors as their general manager in July. Both men are from Arizona.
“This is a strong draft class, as well as having our third pick will allow us many chances to add good players to our team,” U’Ren said.
Not only do the Mercury have the third overall pick, but their company will also be very different next season.
“We have the best fans who have been so helpful as we keep working to get back to playing at a championship level.
We’re excited for what will happen on draft night and beyond as we add a different skilled player to the Mercury.”
Skylar Diggins-Smith, an all-star guard, is a free agent and probably won’t come back. In 2022, Diggins-Smith led the Mercury within minutes (34.0), points (19.7), and assists (5.5) per game.
However, she hasn’t played for the team since August 4, 2022, and she missed the whole season because she was pregnant.