The climate of women’s sports being tucked away and overlooked isn’t too far removed from Monday night’s 2024 WNBA Draft.
In fact, for many who grew up with dreams and ambitions of making a career out of sports, that was — and in some ways remains — the reality.
Hannah O’Flynn, a dedicated advocate for pushing the recognition of female athletes, has spent years working toward making a difference. O’Flynn spent seven years working for the NBA and ESPN, producing content for various social media platforms with a focus surrounding women’s sports. Through her time making strides toward pitching in, O’Flynn does recognize a difference in the modern-day climate that’s allowed 2024 draft prospects such as Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese to become overnight stars.
“Social media, marketing and NIL deals have completely changed the game,” O’Flynn told NESN.com. “It encourages star power and allows athletes to have their own voice and presence. NIL deals encourage them to invest in themselves and their likeness. Nike, Jordan, Gatorade, Bose, State Farm and Buick all had their first NIL deals with women.”
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O’Flynn continued: “Women’s basketball has undoubtedly gained popularity and support over the years, and we’ve seen a huge spike in numbers this past year. The women’s championship game averaged 18.7 million views and peaked at 24 million. The men’s championship averaged 14.8 million views. The cheapest Final Four ticket to get into the arena this year was $692. … It was $35 in 2019.”
Clark and Reese, both expected to be taken in the first round of the WNBA draft, skyrocketed into relevancy amid their head-to-head battle in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The two on-court foes were the faces of last season’s March Madness frenzy, quickly becoming social media’s go-to meme sources while giving everyone a reason to tune in for the Hawkeyes and Tigers.
Plastered all over social media and commercials, plus Clark headlined in the most-viewed women’s college basketball game of all time (18.9 million viewers) against South Carolina, the future seems promising — due in large to the opportunity college careers have supplied Clark, Reese and the rest of the WNBA’s 2024 draft class.
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“Women are required to stay in college for four years before entering the WNBA draft, so we get to build affinity for them over the course of several years (versus one-and-done men who often go straight to the NBA after just one season with the school),” O’Flynn explained. “Companies like ESPN and Overtime dropping mixtapes and sharing personalities of players like Paige Bueckers and Hailey Van Lith since their early high school days has built an audience of Gen Z and millennial supporters that now get to see these athletes in their college prime.”
The Indiana Fever will kick off Monday night’s festivities by selecting first overall — presumably 22-year-old Clark, fresh off setting the NCAA’s all-time scoring record (3,685 points). However, plenty of other highlight-producing prospects will follow in Clark’s footsteps, such as South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson and UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards.
On Sunday, the Chicago Sky pulled off a last-minute swap, acquiring the seventh overall pick and center Nikolina Milic from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the eighth selection, forward Sika Kone, a 2025 second-rounder and the right to swap first-rounders in 2026.
At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Clark, Reese and their fellow draft class members will step into their respective professional careers. Coming with them each will be their recognition garnered from dazzling and elite collegiate performances — which didn’t only help themselves, but women’s athletics as a whole.
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“(Clark and Reese) are foundational. They’re an incredible opportunity for our organization,” Los Angeles Sparks general manager Raegan Pebley said, per FOX Sports. “We definitely want to see two players that not only have the skill set to make an impact early, but also a long runway ahead of them, opportunities to develop, opportunities to not only be excellent in what they do, but how they impact the other pieces around them as we continue to build this team.”
Eyes will be glued to the draft — and the most-anticipated women’s class in recent years — starting at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday night.
Featured image via Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports Images
