How Far Is Your Favorite Rookie Traveling This WNBA Season?
As the WNBA season unfolds, we're seeing record-breaking performances and extensive media coverage, from players' latest fashion trends to their impressive feats on the court. With the league making the distance to ensure they are just as popular as their brother league, here at Vegas Insider decided to uncover how far this year’s rookies will actually go literally to ensure the momentum of the league. Luckily we've analyzed the data to determine which WNBA rookie will cover the most ground. Check out our breakdown below.
Emerald City’s Nika Muhl Is Going The Distance For You
Seattle Storm’s rookie, Nika Muhl, leads all rookies in travel distance this year, covering an impressive 18,213.43 miles which is also about 20% of the total distance being traveled amongst the rookies. This is nearly double the distance traveled by Windy City’s Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, who cover just 9,081.22 miles each, the least among all rookies. Los Angeles Sparks' Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson are the second-highest travelers, covering 16,838.72 miles, which is 1,374.71 miles less than Nika Muhl’s solo travel distance. Unlike Muhl, Brink and Jackson have each other on the road. Caitlin Clark, the only rookie on the Indiana Fever team, travels 9,439.62 miles, which is only 10.41% of the total rookie travel distance this season, totaling 90,715.77 miles. Jacy Sheldon, the southernmost rookie, travels 12,325.36 miles, accounting for 13.59% of the league’s total travel distance. For a detailed breakdown of each team's travel distances, check out the chart below.
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West Coast Teams Are Covering The Most Ground
West Coast rookies from the Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, Dallas Wings and Seattle Storm are traveling a combined total of 57,694 miles, making up about 63% of the league's total rookie travel distance. Jacy Sheldon of the Dallas Wings, representing the Western Conference, is covering 12,325.36 miles, accounting for 13% of the total distance. Eastern Conference rookies from the Washington Mystics, Chicago Sky, and Indiana Fever are traveling a total of 33,020 miles, which is about 37% of the rookie’s distance total. Aaliyah Edwards of the Washington Mystics, a Eastern Conference rookie, is traveling 14,500.11 miles, comprising 15% of the total distance traveled by 2024 rookies.
Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl Travel The Farthest To Battle It Out
Seattle Storm and the Washington Mystics have the lengthiest journeys to face off, with a staggering 2,326.80 miles traveled as they clashed four times throughout the season. On the other hand, Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark will encounter the shortest distance traveled, covering a mere 163.47 miles on Aug 30, 2024, to see Chi Town's Angel Reese. This vast difference amounts to roughly 14 times the distance of the Storm-Mystics matchup.
Methodology
The project set out to determine which WNBA rookie would cover the longest distance during the regular season spanning from May 14 to September 19. The data was sourced primarily from the official WNBA website including match schedules, team details, and locations. Geographical data, such as latitude and longitude coordinates for each stadium, was extracted to calculate distances between match locations using the Haversine formula. Ultimately, the analysis shed light on the extensive travel demands rookies face and their potential impact on performance and scheduling.