Six-team mock draft: How early did Caitlin Clark go?
With the WNBA season set to tip off on May 14, the ESPN experts came together for a fantasy women’s basketball mock draft.
We used the ESPN default settings — a six-team league with nine players per team and the following scoring system:
Point = 1 Fantasy Point
Rebound = 1 FP
Assist = 1 FP
Made 3-pointer = 1 FP
Steal = 2 FP
Block = 2 FP
Visit how to play women’s fantasy basketball for more helpful information.
The participants of this mock draft, in order of draft position, were: Jason Shebilske, Eric Moody, Joe Kaiser Andre Snellings, Liz Loza and Jennifer LaCroix. Here is the way the draft unfolded, with some thoughts from the experts on certain selections from each round.
Note: The position rank in parentheses indicates where the player was taken in relation to the others at their position
Round 1
1. Breanna Stewart, NY (F1) — Shebilske
2. A’ja Wilson, LV (F2) — Moody
3. Arike Ogunbowale, Dal (G1) — Kaiser
4. Alyssa Thomas, Conn (F3) — Snellings
5. Napheesa Collier, Min (F4) — Loza
6. Jewell Loyd, Sea (G2) — LaCroix
Round 2
7. Nneka Ogwumike, Sea (F5) — LaCroix
8. Rhyne Howard, Atl (G3) — Loza
9. Sabrina Ionescu, NY (G4) — Snellings
10. Aliyah Boston, Ind (F6) — Kaiser
11. Skylar Diggins-Smith, Sea (G5) — Moody
12. Natasha Howard, Dal (F7) — Shebilske
Loza: I actually had Nneka Ogwumike in my queue, but when Jenni sniped me, I decided to lean into Rhyne Howard‘s high floor. She’s the Dream’s team leader, having averaged over 32 minutes and nearly 17 points per game over the last two seasons. None of that figures to change. I appreciate the set-it-and-forget appeal that she offers both in real life and for fantasy managers.
Snellings: My biggest decision to make was in the second round, with several players of interest on the board. I really wanted Aliyah Boston in this draft, but with her ranking there was at least an outside chance she would make it to my third round pick. I also wanted to get a guard, since I’d drafted a forward in the first round. I chose Sabrina Ionescu, but it was a close decision between several elite guards including the returning Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kelsey Plum and, of course, rookie Caitlin Clark.
Loza: Natasha Howard at the end of the second was an inspired and savvy selection. On her fifth team in 10 seasons, Howard continued to dominate in 2023. She registered a career-high 33.1 minutes per game while crushing the boards to the tune of 8 rebounds per contest and continuing to put up over 16 points per effort. With Satou Sabally recovering from shoulder surgery, Howard’s role on the squad figures to remain prominent.
Round 3
13. Kelsey Plum, LV (G6) — Shebilske
14. Caitlin Clark, Ind (G7) — Moody
15. Kahleah Copper, Phx (G8) — Kaiser
16. Chelsea Gray, LV (G9) — Snellings
17. Jackie Young, LV (G10) — Loza
18. Brittney Sykes, Wsh (G11) — LaCroix
Moody: Since I had the 1.02 and selected A’ja Wilson, my plan was to prioritize guards in the next two rounds. I’m thrilled about landing Skylar Diggins-Smith and Caitlin Clark. Diggins-Smith is in a great spot with the Storm after missing the entirety of the 2023 season due to pregnancy. She’s averaged 18.3 PPG and 5.4 APG over the last five seasons. There is a bit of the unknown with Clark being a rookie, but the usage rate should be there, and Rhyne Howard and Aliyah Boston, the two most recent No. 1 overall picks, were fantasy relevant immediately. It will be exciting for any fantasy manager to have Clark on their team since almost every Fever game will be televised nationally, including 10 games on the ABC/ESPN family of networks.
Round 4
19. DeWanna Bonner, Conn (F8) — LaCroix
20. Cameron Brink, LA (F9) — Loza
21. Brittney Griner, Phx (C1) — Snellings
22. Ezi Magbegor, Sea (C2) — Kaiser
23. Jonquel Jones, NY (F10) — Moody
24. Allisha Gray, Atl (G12) — Shebilske
LaCroix: The draft started to drop down to different tiers twice. The first drop happened toward the beginning of the fourth round, when I noticed it getting a little harder to make decisions and coming off a third round in which pick was a guard, since this league has fewer great guards than forwards. The second drop happened in the middle of the seventh round. That’s when a few of us started to take chances on players that were injured, older or didn’t play last season.
Round 5
25. Marina Mabrey, Chi (G13) — Shebilske
26. Cheyenne Parker, Atl (F11) — Moody
27. NaLyssa Smith, Ind (F12) — Kaiser
28. Courtney Williams, Min (G14) — Snellings
29. Courtney Vandersloot, NY (G15) — Loza
30. Kelsey Mitchell, Ind (G16) — LaCroix
Shebilske: Because standard ESPN roster settings have three forwards and two guards in a starting lineup, I felt comfortable selecting another forward followed by a guard at the Round 2/3 turn, especially since Breanna Stewart was my top pick. There was ample guard availability in the middle rounds, and I selected a pair of incredibly consistent guards at the next turn, including Marina Mabrey, who should be heavily involved for Chicago this season.
Round 6
31. Brionna Jones, Conn (C3) — LaCroix
32. Teaira McCowan, Dal (C4) — Loza
33. Diana Taurasi, Phx (G17) — Snellings
34. Jordin Canada, Atl (G18) — Kaiser
35. Ariel Atkins, Wsh (G19) — Moody
36. Natasha Cloud, Phx (G20) — Shebilske
Shebilske: I was pleasantly surprised to see Natasha Cloud at the Round 6/7 turn. I played it safe earlier in the draft by selecting players who had already established production with their current teams. I took a slight risk with Cloud, who will play on a Mercury squad that also added Kahleah Copper and still has Diana Taurasi. However, if Cloud posts similar numbers to what she had in Washington, this should be a valuable pick.
Round 7
37. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, NY (F13) — Shebilske
38. Tina Charles, Atl (C5) — Moody
39. Elizabeth Williams, Chi (C6) — Kaiser
40. Satou Sabally, Dal (F14) — Snellings
41. Dorka Juhasz, Min (F15) — Loza
42. Candace Parker, LV (F16) — LaCroix
Moody: Tina Charles is a player I could see getting overlooked in fantasy drafts. Considering her statistical body of work, it makes sense to take a flier on her at this stage of the draft. While Charles signing with the Dream was a surprise, it makes sense since she has a connection to head coach Tanisha Wright. Charles could be an offensive juggernaut off the bench for an Atlanta team that struggled to score last season, finishing ninth in offensive rating. In 12 seasons, Charles averaged 18.2 PPG and 9.3 RPG.
Snellings: Sabally had her first healthy campaign last season and produced the sixth-highest fantasy scoring average and the seventh-most fantasy points in the league. She still has plenty of upside, having just turned 26 years old on Thursday. Her offseason shoulder injury is slated to keep her out until roughly the Olympics break, but there is still almost 40% of the season to play after the break. If she does return at that time, it would effectively be like I added another first-round fantasy pick to my squad just in time for the home stretch and the fantasy playoffs. That could be enough to push a competitive team over the top to the championship.
Round 8
43. Lexie Brown, LA (G21) — LaCroix
44. Chiney Ogwumike, LA (F17) — Loza
45. Kamilla Cardoso, Chi (C7) — Snellings
46. Shakira Austin, Wsh (C8) — Kaiser
47. Diamond Miller, Min (G22) — Moody
48. Rickea Jackson, LA (F18) — Shebilske
LaCroix: The biggest decision I had to make during the draft was deciding between Lexie Brown, Kayla McBride and Diamond DeShields in the eighth round. I knew I wanted a guard to fill out my roster, and while all three guards have proven to be productive, I also had hesitations about each of them. With DeShields, I know that, if healthy, she would be a primary scorer for the Sky, but she’s had a history of injuries. Brown started last season with a bang and showed massive improvement in her game, but she ended up missing a majority of the season due to an illness and I’m unsure how that will impact her this season. As for McBride, she is on a Minnesota team that signed Courtney Williams and has a rising star in Diamond Miller, who could take some of the scoring and assist opportunities away from McBride this season. I decided on Brown because, from what I know, she is healthy and as a veteran on the Sparks, will most likely be their primary shooting guard.
Round 9
49. Sami Whitcomb, Sea (G23) — Shebilske
50. Aaliyah Edwards, Wsh (F19) — Moody
51. Kayla McBride, Min (G24) — Kaiser
52. Alanna Smith, Min (F20) — Snellings
53. Angel Reese, Chi (F21) — Loza
54. Dearica Hamby, LA (F22) — LaCroix
Team rosters are presented in first-round pick order. Picks indicated in parentheses in this manner: (Round.Pick)
Team Shebilske
F1 Breanna Stewart, NY (Pick: 1.1)
F2 Natasha Howard, Dal (Pick: 2.6)
F3 Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, NY (Pick: 7.1)
F4 Rickea Jackson, LA (Pick: 8.6)
G1 Kelsey Plum, LV (Pick: 3.1)
G2 Allisha Gray, Atl (Pick: 4.6)
G3 Marina Mabrey, Chi (Pick: 5.1)
G4 Natasha Cloud, Phx (Pick: 6.6)
G5 Sami Whitcomb, Sea (Pick: 9.1)
Team Moody
F1 A’ja Wilson, LV (Pick: 1.2)
F2 Jonquel Jones, NY (Pick: 4.5)
F3 Cheyenne Parker, Atl (Pick: 5.2)
F4 Aaliyah Edwards, Wsh (Pick: 9.2)
G1 Skylar Diggins-Smith, Sea (Pick: 2.5)
G2 Caitlin Clark, Ind (Pick: 3.2)
G3 Ariel Atkins, Wsh (Pick: 6.5)
G4 Diamond Miller, Min (Pick: 8.5)
C1 Tina Charles, Atl (Pick: 7.2)
Team Kaiser
F1 Aliyah Boston, Ind (Pick: 2.4)
F2 NaLyssa Smith, Ind (Pick: 5.3)
G1 Arike Ogunbowale, Dal (Pick: 1.3)
G2 Kahleah Copper, Phx (Pick: 3.3)
G3 Jordin Canada, Atl (Pick: 6.4)
G4 Kayla McBride, Min (Pick: 9.3)
C1 Ezi Magbegor, Sea (Pick: 4.4)
C2 Elizabeth Williams, Chi (Pick: 7.3)
C3 Shakira Austin, Wsh (Pick: 8.4)
Team Snellings
F1 Alyssa Thomas, Conn (Pick: 1.4)
F2 Satou Sabally, Dal (Pick: 7.4)
F3 Alanna Smith, Min (Pick: 9.4)
G1 Sabrina Ionescu, NY (Pick: 2.3)
G2 Chelsea Gray, LV (Pick: 3.4)
G3 Courtney Williams, Min (Pick: 5.4)
G4 Diana Taurasi, Phx (Pick: 6.3)
C1 Brittney Griner, Phx (Pick: 4.3)
C2 Kamilla Cardoso, Chi (Pick: 8.3)
Team Loza
F1 Napheesa Collier, Min (Pick: 1.5)
F2 Cameron Brink, LA (Pick: 4.2)
F3 Dorka Juhasz, Min (Pick: 7.5)
F4 Chiney Ogwumike, LA (Pick: 8.2)
F5 Angel Reese, Chi (Pick: 9.5)
G1 Rhyne Howard, Atl (Pick: 2.2)
G2 Jackie Young, LV (Pick: 3.5)
G3 Courtney Vandersloot, NY (Pick: 5.5)
C1 Teaira McCowan, Dal (Pick: 6.2)
Team LaCroix
F1 Nneka Ogwumike, Sea (Pick: 2.1)
F2 DeWanna Bonner, Conn (Pick: 4.1)
F3 Candace Parker, LV (Pick: 7.6)
F4 Dearica Hamby, LA (Pick: 9.6)
G1 Jewell Loyd, Sea (Pick: 1.6)
G2 Brittney Sykes, Wsh (Pick: 3.6)
G3 Kelsey Mitchell, Ind (Pick: 5.6)
G4 Lexie Brown, LA (Pick: 8.1)
C1 Brionna Jones, Conn (Pick: 6.1)
