Dyaisha Fair poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected with the No. 16 overall pick to the Las Vegas Aces in the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces were one of the 2024 WNBA Draft’s biggest winners despite not having a first-round pick.
That’s what happens when a team selects the third-leading scorer in women’s NCAA history, plus one of the key cogs of Iowa’s past two Final Four teams.
With their first pick at No. 16 overall, the Aces chose former Syracuse guard Dyaisha Fair. She finished her college career with 3,403 career points, the third-most all-time. In Las Vegas, she’ll partner with and study under guard Kelsey Plum, who’s second on the all-time list (3,527 points).
The Aces weren’t done, later adding Iowa forward Kate Martin with the No. 18 pick. Considered the glue during the Hawkeyes’ two national championship game appearances, Martin already proved, playing alongside Clark, that she doesn’t need an offense to run through her to make an imprint on the game.
As On3’s Kyle Huesmann reminded, Martin scored double-digits in 30 of 39 games in 2023-24 and averaged a career-high 13.7 points per game.
Those two selections represented phenomenal value for Las Vegas, but the franchise wasn’t done. With No. 26, the team selected former Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley, who seemingly fell down draft boards due to a torn ACL she sustained in March.
Prior to her injury, the three-time ACC Player of the Year averaged 22.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in 29 games. She left Virginia Tech as the program’s all-time leader in points (2,709), rebounds (1,506) and blocks (331).
In March, the Aces, who have won back-to-back WNBA championships and became the first franchise in league history to sell out their season ticket memberships.
The team was doing just fine for itself before Monday’s draft. It must be slightly disheartening for the rest of the league’s teams that, despite entering the draft with a weak hand, Las Vegas came up aces.
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