A’ja Wilson’s brutally honest take on hyped WNBA rookie class
The WNBA has seen increased attention and viewership amid a talented rookie class.
PHOENIX – The 2024 WNBA rookie class came in with a ton of hype and a ton of expectations. Players like the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese have both contributed to sold out arenas and increased visibility and attention to the league as a whole. Over WNBA All-Star Weekend, Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson spoke about the rookie class and how good they’ve been from the jump.
“It would suck if you brought in all this attention and you were bad. So it’s really good that the rookies are kind of getting a better feel of the game and this league,” Wilson said. “It’s hard, every first year it’s never been easy on any of us. They just have more eyes on them, God bless them.”
Both Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark will suit up as teammates for the first time as part of the WNBA All-Star team. They will face off against Team USA ahead of the Paris Olympics. Both players are the frontrunners for the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award and they’ve made immediate impacts for their respective franchises.
“It’s always good that they can kind of back it up and actually be good at what they do because it would not be good if you did all this and no one wants to see you play. They’ve been approaching it in a way that it’s the best way they can, and we can appreciate them for doing that because it’s helping us grow the league,” Wilson said. “There are eyes on them as that rookie class, but at the same time there’s eyes on us as well to be great and to continue to push out the product that we’ve been doing for years. We’re going to continue to do that.”
Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark highlight increased WNBA popularity
During her All-Star media availability, Wilson recalled an encounter she had while flying commercial her rookie season on the way to Seattle for a game.
“I sat next to a guy named Jim that was wondering why I was going to Seattle and I’m like ‘oh I’m playing a game. He’s like, ‘oh what AAU team,’ and I’m like, ‘a WNBA team,’” Wilson said. “So now I don’t have to have those conversations with those type of people obviously because of charter flights. I think that’s the biggest sense of growth that we’ve seen this year.”
Back during the beginning of the season, a video of the Fever and Caitlin Clark arriving in Dallas went viral as the team was followed and filmed walking through the airport.
While much of the attention has centered around Clark and Reese and their games against each other, Wilson highlighted a key byproduct in that there’s increased visibility now on some of the star players who have set the foundation and were already working to make the WNBA great prior to this season.
