CHICAGO (WLS) — The Chicago Sky had two top 10 picks Monday night in one of the most anticipated WNBA drafts in sports history.
Women’s basketball fans packed Revolution Brewery and Taproom for Monday night’s Chicago Sky Draft Watch Party.
“I remember when the WNBA started, and you couldn’t find a WNBA game on TV,” said Sky fan Kimberly Collins. “Finally, they realize that women are ballers!”
Clark, a Sky season ticket holder from Gary, Indiana, was thrilled with the team’s No. 3 pick: Kamilla Cardoso.
“I tried to hold back the tears, because I was so excited. I wanted Kamilla so bad especially since we’re rebuilding,” Collins said. “Now, if we can get Angel [Reese] at number seven.”
Collins’ wish came true. The Sky named LSU’s Angel Reese as the No. 7 pick.
Breanna Beck said these picks mark the beginning of a new chapter in Skytown.
“These players, they are generational, and they’re making big jumps to me in the W. They made big jumps in the college game, and I feel like they’re going to make some noise when they come to Chicago,” Beck said.
The energy of the room on Monday night encapsulated the sweeping momentum that has moved the nation into “the women’s basketball era.”
“Everybody is just catching up to us. This is nothing new for me, and I feel like people are using their platforms, and everybody is just jumping on to realize that we’re just as great,” Beck said.
The Sky’s picks came after Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark was the No. 1 pick, going to the Indiana Fever.
Clark, along with South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso and UCLA guard Kiki Rice, are other big names profiled in an upcoming ESPN docuseries.
WNBA draftees were already walking the iconic “orange carpet” to a mass of fans Monday. Monday’s draft came on the heels of an unprecedented NCAA women’s basketball tournament that saw record-breaking viewership numbers.
“We’re already seeing that energy carry over to the WNBA,” said Annie Costabile, WNBA and Chicago Sky beat reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Costabile has been covering the action from the WNBA draft in New York.
“There have been crowds of fans following these athletes around. They started their day at the Empire State Building. There were literal blocks of children, adults standing outside the Empire State Building trying to catch a glimpse of these players,” Costabile said.
“Top targets are Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese: Those are two of their targets with those picks, but, beyond Kamilla and Angel, there are a number of viable options with both of those picks,” Costabile said earlier Monday. “So much of what happens with the Sky at No. 3 and No. 7 depends on who is picking before them and who they pick.”
Monday’s WNBA draft is the first in nearly a decade with a live audience.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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