2016 WNBA draft

2016 WNBA draft
General information
Sport	Basketball
Date(s)	April 14, 2016
Location	Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Network(s)	ESPN2 (first round) ESPNU (second and third rounds)
Overview
League	WNBA
First selection	Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm
←  2015 2017  →

The 2016 WNBA draft is the league's draft for the 2016 WNBA season. It was held on April 14 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. ^[1]

The draft was most notable for Connecticut producing the top three picks, with #1 pick Breanna Stewart followed by Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. ^[2] This is the first time in history that the top three draft picks came from the same school. ^[3]

Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2016 draft occurred on September 24, 2015. ^[4] For the first year, team's lottery chances were based on combined records from the 2014 and 2015 WNBA seasons. ^[5]

Lottery chances

The 2016 lottery was held on September 24, 2015. ^[6]

The Seattle Storm won the lottery for the second straight year. This was the third time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds. Seattle Storm held the worst two-year record and was guaranteed at least the third pick for the 2015 draft.

Note: Team selected for the No. 1 pick noted in bold text.

Team	Combined 2014–15 record	Lottery chances	Result
Seattle Storm	22–46	44.2%	1st pick
San Antonio Stars	24–44	27.6%	2nd pick
Connecticut Sun	28–40	17.8%	3rd pick
Atlanta Dream	34–34	10.4%	4th pick

Notable prospects

On September 24, 2015, WNBA.com posted notable prospects for the draft. The list included: ^[7]

• Moriah Jefferson - UConn
• Tiffany Mitchell - South Carolina
• Breanna Stewart - UConn
• Jillian Alleyne - Oregon
• Jonquel Jones - George Washington
• Morgan Tuck - UConn
• Courtney Williams - South Florida

Draft invitees

The WNBA also selected twelve players to be in attendance at the draft. Those twelve were: ^[8]

• Rachel Banham, Minnesota
• Imani Boyette, Texas
• Kahleah Copper, Rutgers
• Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut
• Jonquel Jones, George Washington
• Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina
• Aerial Powers, Michigan State
• Breanna Stewart, Connecticut
• Morgan Tuck, Connecticut
• Courtney Walker, Texas A&M
• Talia Walton, Washington
• Courtney Williams, South Florida

Key

!	Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
^	Denotes player who has been inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
*	Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-WNBA Team
+	Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game
Bold	Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year

Draft

Breanna Stewart was selected 1st overall by the Seattle Storm.

Moriah Jefferson was selected 2nd overall by the San Antonio Stars.

Aerial Powers was selected 5th overall by the Dallas Wings.

Jonquel Jones was selected 6th overall by the Connecticut Sun.

Kahleah Copper was selected 7th overall by the Washington Mystics.

Courtney Williams was selected 8th overall by the Phoenix Mercury.

Round 1

Pick	Player	Nationality	Team	School / club team
1	Breanna Stewart *	United States	Seattle Storm	Connecticut
2	Moriah Jefferson		San Antonio Stars
3	Morgan Tuck		Connecticut Sun
4	Rachel Banham		Connecticut Sun (from Atlanta) [a]	Minnesota
5	Aerial Powers		Dallas Wings (from Los Angeles) [b]	Michigan State
6	Jonquel Jones * (traded to Connecticut) [11]	Bahamas	Los Angeles Sparks (from Dallas) [c]	George Washington
7	Kahleah Copper *	United States	Washington Mystics	Rutgers
8	Courtney Williams +		Phoenix Mercury	South Florida
9	Tiffany Mitchell		Indiana Fever	South Carolina
10	Imani Boyette		Chicago Sky	Texas
11	Bria Holmes		Atlanta Dream (from Minnesota) [d]	West Virginia
12	Adut Bulgak	Canada	New York Liberty	Florida State

Round 2

Pick	Player	Nationality	Team	School / club team
13	Rachel Hollivay	United States	Atlanta Dream (from San Antonio) [e]	Rutgers
14	Jazmon Gwathmey (traded to San Antonio) [12]	United States /   Puerto Rico	Minnesota Lynx (from Seattle) [f]	James Madison
15	Whitney Knight	United States	Los Angeles Sparks (from Connecticut)	Florida Gulf Coast
16	Courtney Walker #		Atlanta Dream	Texas A&M
17	Jamie Weisner [g]	Canada	Connecticut Sun (from Los Angeles)	Oregon State
18	Ruth Hamblin		Dallas Wings
19	Lia Galdeira #	United States	Washington Mystics	Washington State
20	Jillian Alleyne		Phoenix Mercury	Oregon
21	Brene Moseley		Indiana Fever	Maryland
22	Bashaara Graves		Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago) [h]	Tennessee
23	Brianna Butler #		Los Angeles Sparks (from Minnesota via Connecticut) [i]	Syracuse
24	Ameryst Alston		New York Liberty	Ohio State

Round 3

Pick	Player	Nationality	Team	School / club team
25	Brittney Martin #	United States	San Antonio Stars	Oklahoma State
26	Lexi Eaton Rydalch #		Seattle Storm	BYU
27	Aliyyah Handford #		Connecticut Sun	St. John's
28	Niya Johnson #		Atlanta Dream	Baylor
29	Talia Walton #		Los Angeles Sparks	Washington
30	Shakena Richardson #		Dallas Wings	Seton Hall
31	Danaejah Grant #		Washington Mystics	St. John's
32	Nirra Fields	Canada	Phoenix Mercury	UCLA
33	Julie Allemand	Belgium	Indiana Fever	Castors Braine (Belgium)
34	Jordan Jones #	United States	Chicago Sky	Texas A&M
35	Temi Fagbenle	United Kingdom	Minnesota Lynx	USC
36	Shacobia Barbee #	United States	New York Liberty	Georgia

Footnotes

1. The Dream traded this pick to Connecticut in exchange for Elizabeth Williams. ^[9]
2. Dallas and Los Angeles traded first-round picks in this draft; Dallas also received Erin Phillips. ^[10]
3. Los Angeles and Dallas traded first-round picks in this draft; Los Angeles also received Riquna Williams and a 2017 first-round pick. ^[10]
4. The Dream received this pick from the Minnesota Lynx as part of a three-way trade involving the Sky:
   • Chicago received Érika de Souza from Atlanta
   • Atlanta received Damiris Dantas, Reshanda Gray and this pick from Minnesota
   • Minnesota received Sylvia Fowles and Chicago's second-round pick in this draft
5. The Dream received this pick from San Antonio in exchange for Samantha Logic.
6. The Lynx received this pick and Renee Montgomery from Seattle in exchange for Monica Wright.
7. Weisner was born and raised in the USA to an American mother and Canadian father. At the time of the draft, she had represented Canada internationally at both youth and senior level. ^[13]
8. The Lynx received this pick from Chicago, see note d
9. The Sun received this pick from Minnesota in exchange for the rights to Asjha Jones

See also

• List of first overall WNBA draft picks

References

1. "WNBA Draft 2016 Presented by State Farm to Be Held on April 14" (Press release). WNBA. February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
2. "Breanna Stewart top pick in WNBA, leading 1-2-3 UConn sweep". ESPN.com . April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
3. "Stewart leads 1-2-3 UConn sweep at WNBA draft". ESPN.com. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
4. "Seattle Storm Wins Top Pick For 2016 WNBA Draft Presented By State Farm". WNBA. September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
5. "WNBA Announces Rules Changes To Draft Lottery Format". WNBA. August 5, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
6. "Storm wins top pick for 2016 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm". NBA Communications. September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
7. Notable Prospects in the 2016 WNBA Draft
8. "Meet the 12 Players Attending WNBA Draft 2016 - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
9. "Seattle Connecticut Sun trade F/C Elizabeth Williams to Dream for No. 4 draft pick". ESPN . ESPN. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
10. "Sparks acquire Riquna Williams in swap of high picks with Wings". ESPN . ESPN. March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
11. "Sparks Acquire Chelsea Gray from Connecticut Sun in Exchange for the Draft Rights to Guard Jonquel Jones and 2017 First Round Pick – Los Angeles Sparks". Los Angeles Sparks. April 14, 2016. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017.
12. "Lynx Acquire WNBA All-Star Jia Perkins From San Antonio - Minnesota Lynx". Minnesota Lynx. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
13. "Bio: #15 Jamie Weisner". Oregon State Beavers . Retrieved April 14, 2016.