WNBA Draft
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The WNBA Draft is an annual draft held by the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997.
The 1997 WNBA draft, the league's first, was comprised of both college players and professional women's basketball players who had played internationally. A number of players (most notably stars Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo) were assigned teams by the league instead of being placed in the original draft pool. Subsequent drafts have been conducted on talent pools primarily comprised of college players.
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First picks
The top picks each year have been:
| Year | Player | College | Drafted by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Dena Head | University of Tennessee | Utah Starzz |
| 1998 | Margo Dydek | Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego (http://www.awf.wroc.pl/) | Utah Starzz |
| 1999 | Chamique Holdsclaw1,2 | University of Tennessee | Washington Mystics |
| 2000 | Ann Wauters | Cleveland Rockers | |
| 2001 | Lauren Jackson3 | Australian Institute of Sport | Seattle Storm |
| 2002 | Sue Bird1,2 | University of Connecticut | Seattle Storm |
| 2003 | LaToya Thomas | Mississippi State University | Cleveland Rockers |
| 2004 | Diana Taurasi 1 | University of Connecticut | Phoenix Mercury |
| 2005 | Janel McCarville | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | Charlotte Sting |
Notes:
- 1: Won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award.
- 2: Started the WNBA All-Star Game in her first season.
- 3: Made the WNBA All-Star Game as a reserve in her first season.
Trivia
- Dena Head is the oldest #1 draft pick, having graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1992. [1] (http://www.mgoblue.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=4045&season=115)
- Lauren Jackson is the youngest #1 draft pick, being drafted at the age of 19.
- Diana Taurasi was selected to play on the 2004 USA Women's National Basketball team which won the Gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She was the youngest player selected to play on the team.
Other notable draft picks
Some draft picks were not drafted #1 overall, but made an immediate impact upon the league after being drafted.
2001
- Tamika Catchings, University of Tennessee, picked #3 overall by Indiana Fever - sat out her first season due to injury, but debuted in 2002 to earn WNBA Rookie of the Year Award and a spot on the WNBA All-Star Team.
2002
- Swin Cash, University of Connecticut, picked #2 overall by Detroit Shock - led the Shock to their first WNBA Championship in her second season.
2003
- Cheryl Ford, helped the Detroit Shock win a WNBA Championship in her first season.
2004
- Lindsay Whalen, University of Minnesota by Connecticut Sun - led the Sun to their first WNBA Finals appearance.
References
McCarville, White, Irvin Go First in the 2005 WNBA Draft (http://www.wnba.com/draft2005/draft2005_release.html). Retrieved Apr 17 2005.