Gamecocks in the WNBA: How former USC players have fared halfway through 2024 season

The WNBA All-Star and Olympic breaks are upon us.

South Carolina had as many as 11 former players in the league this season. NCAA champion Destanni Henderson was waived by the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, so that number is back down to 10.



Here’s a look at how all the Gamecocks in the WNBA are doing at the halfway point of the 2024 season:

A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)

Stats (in 24 games played): 27.2 PPG (0.539 eFG%), 12 RPG, 2.9 BPG, 35.7 player efficiency rating, 7.0 win shares

Wilson is having one of the best seasons this league has ever seen.

She is on pace to break Diana Taurasi’s scoring record (25.3 points per game set in 2006) while shooting 50/40/87 from the field. Wilson has recorded 12 games with 25-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in 24 outings, which is the most in a single season in league history. She ranks first among all WNBA players in points per game, rebounds per game, blocks per game, player efficiency rating and win shares (an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player).

Since the 2024 season tipped off in May, Wilson has also unveiled the logo for her signature shoe and apparel line with Nike, graced the cover of Marie Claire Magazine and Rolling Stone and been announced as the WNBA/All-Star cover athlete for NBA 2K25.

Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream)

Stats (in 24 games played): 15.5 PPG (0.492 eFG%), 4.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 15.3 player efficiency rating, 1.7 win shares

In addition to making her second consecutive All-Star roster, 2024 is a season of milestones for Gray. She passed 3,000 career points earlier this month and knocked down her 300th career 3-pointer Wednesday against the Minnesota Lynx.



Gray will compete in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game as well as the 3-point contest and skills competition in Phoenix this weekend. She’ll be competing for a $55,000 bonus from Aflac for winning each contest.

Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever)

Stats (in 26 games played): 14.2 PPG (0.540 eFG%), 8.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.5 BPG, 20.8 player efficiency rating, 2.6 win shares

Reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Boston finished second in All-Star fan voting (618,680) behind Indiana Fever teammate Caitlin Clark (700,735). After a slow start to the season, Boston has set multiple career highs in the last few weeks.



She recorded a 17-point, 16-rebound (career high) double-double against Minnesota on Sunday and scored 28 points (career high) against Dallas in Indiana’s last game before the All-Star break.

Boston has seen much more success in this phase of the season as Indiana started playing through her more often.

Kamilla Cardoso (Chicago Sky)

Stats (in 18 games played): 8.1 PPG (0.462 eFG%), 7.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.1 BPG, 13.4 player efficiency rating, 0.9 win shares

Chicago selected Cardoso with the No. 3 pick in the WNBA Draft on April 15. She sustained a shoulder injury in the first half of her preseason debut versus the Minnesota Lynx on May 3 and missed the Sky’s first six games of the regular season.

Cardoso has impressed since making her WNBA debut against former USC teammate Boston on June 1. She and Angel Reese have combined to make league history, having recorded double-doubles in the same game three times this season. It marks the most joint double-doubles by a rookie tandem.

While Cardoso did not finish in the top 10 of WNBA All-Star voting, she was part of the next 36 highest-ranking players pool for the league’s 12 head coaches to choose from to fill out the 12-person Team WNBA roster.

Tyasha Harris (Connecticut Sun)

Stats (in 23 games played): 11 PPG (0.487 eFG%), 1.8 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.1 SPG, 12.6 player efficiency rating, 2.0 win shares

Harris has seen a huge uptick in playing time and production this season. She went from averaging 16.7 minutes and 5.8 points per game in 2023 to 30.5 minutes and 11 points per game this year. She’s one of the Sun’s starting guards and has helped them achieve their current second-place Eastern Conference standing.

“I’m proud of Ty,” Connecticut coach Stephanie White said in June. “Last year, when Ty came in, we knew that she had the tools, she just needed an opportunity. Getting an opportunity a year ago, and getting a feel and getting a sense for what it’s like to really play rotation minutes in this league.”

Harris was also part of the 36-player pool along with Cardoso.

Tiffany Mitchell (Connecticut Sun)

Stats (in 24 games played): 4.9 PPG (0.376 eFG%), 1.5 RPG, 0.8 APG, 8.2 player efficiency rating, 0.7 win shares

The Connecticut Sun acquired Mitchell and a second-round pick in the 2024 WNBA draft this offseason via trade with the Minnesota Lynx. Mitchell is playing a smaller reserve role in Connecticut this season than she did as a starter in Minnesota last year but is making her minutes (16.3 per game) count. She is a formidable defender and consistent contributor to the Sun’s success.

Destanni Henderson (Atlanta Dream)

Stats (in six games played): 4.0 PPG (0.362 eFG%), 2.5 APG, 2.0 RPG, 4.0 player efficiency rating, -0.3 win shares

The Atlanta Dream waived Henderson again Thursday, the organization announced, after waiving her just before the start of the regular season.



She signed a seven-day hardship contract with the organization July 5 and again on July 12. Her signing brought USC’s former player count up to 11 in the WNBA. She rejoined fellow former Gamecocks Laeticia Amihere and two-time All-Star Allisha Gray in Atlanta. Henderson appeared in six games, averaging 17.5 minutes per contest.



The 2022 NCAA champion could rejoin the league should a team decide to sign her to another seven-day contract.

Zia Cooke (Los Angeles Sparks)

Stats (in 20 games played): 3.4 PPG (0.340 eFG%), 0.8 RPG, 0.7 APG, 4.7 player efficiency rating, -0.5 win shares

Cooke is halfway through Year 2 in the league. While this season hasn’t been quite as productive as 2023, she has had a couple breakout performances. Cooke scored double-digit points in back to back games against the New York Liberty in June (13 points on June 20 and 14 points on June 22).

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (Phoenix Mercury)

Stats (in 19 games played): 2.9 PPG (0.464 eFG%), 1.5 RPG, 0.6 SPG, 8.6 player efficiency rating

After three seasons away, Herbert Harrigan is back in the WNBA and making her presence known.

She has started three games for the Phoenix Mercury this season, including their July 10 victory over Dallas, which saw Herbert Harrigan score a career-high 12 points. On July 7, she hit a clutch 3 to solidify her team’s victory over the Los Angeles Sparks.

“Every time I get to the gym I see Kiki putting in the work,” teammate Kahleah Copper said July 10. “... You put in the work, the game will reward you.

“... It’s preparation meeting opportunity for her.”

Laeticia Amihere (Atlanta Dream)

Stats (in 11 games played): 1.2 PPG (0.238 eFG%), 1.9 RPG, 2.0 player efficiency rating, -0.3 win shares

Victaria Saxton (Indiana Fever)

Stats (in six games played): 0.5 PPG (0.250 eFG%), -5.5 player efficiency rating, -0.1 win shares

How to watch 2024 WNBA All-Star Game

Who: Team WNBA vs. Team USA

Where: Footprint Center in Phoenix

When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: ABC

Stream: The ESPN app

Full All-Star weekend schedule:

• Skills Challenge (featuring Allisha Gray): Friday, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
  
  

• 3-Point Contest (featuring Allisha Gray): Friday, after the Skills Challenge (ESPN)

• All-Star Game: Saturday, 8:30 p.m. (ABC/ESPN App)