Locked On Women’s Basketball: Live from New York, Caitlin Clark just the beginning of the 2024 WNBA Draft

Accordingly, the two first discussed the impact of allowing fans back to experience the draft in person.

“The last time [the WNBA Draft] was happening live, it was 2016, it was at Mohegan Sun. I covered that draft, I remember the feeling,” Megdal said. “I have very pleasant memories of watching players as the night went on. And it took about four hours. [Players were] taking off their heels and running back and forth across what was then a red carpet. They hadn’t even made it an orange carpet. This felt very grown up, from seeing the crowd coming together, watching everybody coming together on the orange carpet, right on through the professional level that [players] were able to answer [media] questions.”

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Then, they discussed the picks they found most interesting from the night, from Charisma Osborne heading to Phoenix at No. 25, to Celeste Taylor going at No. 15 to the Indiana Fever, and the event of the night, Caitlin Clark officially being drafted at No. 1 to Indiana.

“I am on record as saying Caitlin Clark is going to be an excellent WNBA player, right away. Right away going to be a star, in my view. When you go back and you look, historically, the players at the level that I believe Caitlin Clark is at, whether they are guards or bigs, they have come in and been all-stars right away,” Megdal said. “And it’s not every single number one pick. Not all number one picks are created equal. But to my mind. That’s where Caitlin Clark is. In my mind. There were two such players in this draft. And so when you look at what Indiana did, they were able to get Caitlin Clark, they were also able to get a glue player in Celeste Taylor.”

“I thought that was an absolutely excellent pick from Lin Dunn at [No.] 15. And when you think about what the Indiana Fever needs, they need more help on the the wing, especially defending the perimeter. And that’s what Celeste has been known for,” Powell said. “Obviously there are questions about her offensive game, but when you think about what the Fever need, they need defense. And we know that Lin Dunn teams value defense. And so, you know, when you think about the Fever’s back court in Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, you know, defense isn’t their strength, and that’s fine. And so where do you get it? You get it from other players. And so I think Celeste has a good shot of making this team.”

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Then, Powell talked about some of the prospects that the New York Liberty had drafted and picked up to join their training camp later this April. Namely, Kaitlyn Davis out of USC at No. 35 and Jaylyn Sherrod of Colorado, who went undrafted but signed a training camp contract with New York soon after the draft.

“Davis was described to me as like a walking paint touch and that she can get into the paint at will, and she’s so athletic. The same goes for for Jaylyn, I mean, her strength is getting into the paint, [and] being able to kick out,” Powell explained. “And then on the defensive end … it’s [Sherrod’s] instincts. It’s her athleticism, and her ability to know how to use her defensive tools. So this makes a lot of sense to me.”

Hear more live from the WNBA Draft in New York, as Powell and Megdal continued discussing prospects and the importance of this year’s draft. Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!