WNBA Wraparound: Kahleah Copper, Arike Ogunbowale get off to hot starts as the rookies begin to acclimate

Entering the third week of the WNBA season, top draft picks like Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, and Angel Reese continue to acclimate to the pros. At the same time, a slew of the league’s veterans have been on an offensive tear, headlined by Phoenix's Kahleah Copper and Dallas's Arike Ogunbowale, among others.

Connecticut, meanwhile, is the only undefeated team in the league after stringing together a series of clutch-time wins. This week's WNBA Wraparound overviews everything you need to know — from the most electric scorers so far to how your favorite rookie is acclimating.

3 highlights from last week around the WNBA

Kahleah Copper has been on a tear: It’s no secret that Kahleah Copper can score – she averaged double-figures on the Sky for each of the last four seasons, going for a career-best 18.7 points per game last year. But in recent weeks, she’s taken it to another level in her first season with the Phoenix Mercury — averaging 29.2 points on 50.5 percent shooting so far this year, including 48.6 percent on 3-pointers.

The Mercury, who were one of the worst teams in the league last year, have turned it around, and hold a 3-2 record entering Week 3. That’s despite losing Brittney Griner to a toe fracture at the beginning of the season. Copper has long been a star, but appears to have taken a major step forward this season. 

Arike Ogunbowale: Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale has been on an absolute tear, leading the league in scoring with 31 points per game. She’s long been an explosive scorer who’s struggled with inefficiency, shooting 39.6 percent for her career. And while her shooting marks haven't been substantially better this season –– she’s shot about 40 percent from the field –– she exploded for 40 points on 11-of-24 shooting in a Saturday night win over the Mercury. Improving her efficiency will continue to be a priority,

The Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark get their first win: The Fever’s schedule has been a gauntlet to start; they began the year 0-5 with a pair of losses to the Sun and Liberty. But on Friday night, Indiana won their first game of the season, a 78-73 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks. Caitlin Clark hit a dagger 3-pointer in the final minute and finished with a near triple-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. 

Clark and the Fever continue to experience growing pains, but she has looked increasingly comfortable as the season progresses, particularly as a playmaker. Through seven Fever games — the most played by any team this season — Clark is averaging 15.4 points and 6.3 assists. 

2 WNBA games to tune into this week 

Los Angeles Sparks @ Indiana Fever – Tuesday, May 28 at 7 p.m. ET

Both the Sparks and the Fever are ranked toward the bottom of league standings, but this match-up features some of the best young players in the game. The Sparks won their first game of the season last week behind a Cameron Brink game-winning block, and the Fever have had a tough start but earned their first win of the season at the Sparks’ expense last season. 

Las Vegas Aces @ Minnesota Lynx – Wednesday, May 29 at 8 p.m. ET

The two-time defending champions dropped one to the Mercury on Tuesday night, and have been playing without Chelsea Gray, one of the league’s best point guards and the 2022 Finals MVP. But they’re still one of the best teams in the league, and feature A’ja Wilson, last year’s Finals MVP, as well as Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, two of the premier guards in the WNBA. 

Minnesota has enjoyed a hot start to the season, and Napheesa Collier has been playing at an MVP level. Collier, a three-time All-Star, has enjoyed a spectacular start to her seventh WNBA season. She’s averaging 23.8 points through five games, along with 11 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.3 steals.

The Lynx, who started the season with a 4-1 record, have been one of the best teams in the league so far. Their only loss came to the Connecticut Sun in overtime, a game in which Collier had 31 points, 33 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. This could end up being a showdown between two of the league’s best teams, featuring some of women basketball’s most prolific scorers. 

1 WNBA story to monitor this week: The rookies are coming into their own  

The first few games were always going to be tough for the newcomers — but as we head into the third week of the WNBA season, the rookies have grown increasingly comfortable. Caitlin Clark has been the topic of most of the national discourse, but a slew of other rookies have looked particularly effective on both ends of the floor of late.

Angel Reese, for one, is averaging 12.3 points per game and has scored in double-figures in all four games so far. There were questions about how her game would adjust to the professional level, but so far, concerns around her ability to compete with WNBA post players have been quelled. She grabbed 12 offensive rebounds through her first two games, setting a record for most-ever by a rookie to start a season, and responded well to a hard foul by Alyssa Thomas that got Thomas ejected, saying after the game, "I got back up and I kept going and I kept pushing."

Meanwhile, Cameron Brink, who was drafted second overall by the Sparks last month, has looked like a future Defensive Player of the Year in the early weeks here. She already leads the league in blocks and has matched up well with some of the top players in the league, including Wilson. In a loss to the Fever, she had one of her best offensive games of the season, a 15-point, 9-rebound outing. 

Rickea Jackson is averaging 11.3 points on 54.8 percent shooting so far and has been a bright spot for a Sparks team that has largely struggled this season. Jackson has looked polished in her minutes off the bench and appears poised to take on a larger role in the months ahead.