2018 WNBA draft

2018 WNBA draft
General information
Sport	Basketball
Date(s)	April 12, 2018
Location	Nike New York Headquarters, New York City
Network(s)	ESPN2 (first round) ESPNU (Second and Third Rounds)
Overview
League	WNBA
First selection	A'ja Wilson Las Vegas Aces
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The 2018 WNBA draft was the league's draft for the 2018 WNBA season. On March 12, the league announced the draft would be held on April 12 at Nike New York Headquarters, a recently opened secondary headquarters for the athletic apparel giant located in Midtown Manhattan. ^{[1] [2]}

Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2018 Draft was set to take place on September 14, 2017, but was delayed by the league to November 13.

Lottery chances

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2018 draft occurred on November 13, 2017. The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2016 and 2017 WNBA seasons. ^[3] The San Antonio Stars, with the worst two-year record, were guaranteed no worse than the third pick. With the Stars relocating to Las Vegas, Las Vegas retained these best odds. All odds out of 1,000 based on percentages (the 11–12–13–14 combination was ignored).

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

Team	Combined 2016–17 record	Lottery chances	Result
Las Vegas Aces	15–53	44.2%	1st pick
Indiana Fever	26–42	22.7%	2nd pick
Chicago Sky (via Atlanta) [4]	29–39 [a]	17.8%	3rd pick
Chicago Sky	30–38	10.4%	4th pick

1. Atlanta's record

This is the fifth time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds and second consecutive number 1 pick for Las Vegas.

Notable prospects

On November 7, 2017, the WNBA announced the following notable prospects for the 2018 draft: ^[5]

• A'ja Wilson - South Carolina
• Kelsey Mitchell - Ohio State
• Gabby Williams - Connecticut
• Kia Nurse - Connecticut
• Jordin Canada - UCLA
• Victoria Vivians - Mississippi State
• Myisha Hines-Allen - Louisville
• Katelynn Flaherty - Michigan

Draft invitees

On April 6, 2018, the WNBA released the names of the players invited to be in attendance at the draft. ^[6]

• Monique Billings, UCLA
• Lexie Brown, Duke
• Jordin Canada, UCLA
• Diamond DeShields, Çukurova (Turkey)
• Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State
• Kia Nurse, UConn
• Azurá Stevens, UConn
• Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State
• Gabby Williams, UConn
• A'ja Wilson, South Carolina

Key

*	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
x	Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-WNBA Team
#	Denotes player who never played in the WNBA regular season or playoffs
Bold	Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year

Draft

A'ja Wilson was selected 1st overall by the Las Vegas Aces.

Kelsey Mitchell was selected 2nd overall by the Indiana Fever.

Diamond DeShields was selected 3rd overall by the Chicago Sky.

Gabby Williams was selected 4th overall by the Chicago Sky.

Jordin Canada was selected 5th overall by the Seattle Storm.

Ariel Atkins was selected 7th overall by the Washington Mystics.

Round 1

Pick	Player	Nationality	Team	School / club team
1	A'ja Wilson *	United States	Las Vegas Aces	South Carolina
2	Kelsey Mitchell +		Indiana Fever	Ohio State
3	Diamond DeShields *		Chicago Sky (from Atlanta) [a]	Tennessee / Çukurova (Turkish Super League)
4	Gabby Williams +	France	Chicago Sky	UConn
5	Jordin Canada	United States	Seattle Storm	UCLA
6	Azurá Stevens		Dallas Wings	UConn
7	Ariel Atkins +		Washington Mystics	Texas
8	Victoria Vivians		Indiana Fever (from Phoenix) [b]	Mississippi State
9	Lexie Brown		Connecticut Sun	Duke
10	Kia Nurse +	Canada	New York Liberty	UConn
11	Maria Vadeeva	Russia	Los Angeles Sparks	Dynamo Kursk (Russia)
12	Marie Gülich	Germany	Phoenix Mercury (from Minnesota) [c]	Oregon State

Round 2

Pick	Player	Nationality	Team	School / club team
13	Jaime Nared	United States	Las Vegas Aces	Tennessee
14	Stephanie Mavunga		Indiana Fever	Ohio State
15	Monique Billings		Atlanta Dream (from Atlanta via Connecticut) [d] [e]	UCLA
16	Kristy Wallace	Australia	Atlanta Dream (from Chicago) [a]	Baylor
17	Park Ji-su (traded to Las Vegas) [f]	South Korea	Minnesota Lynx (from Seattle) [g]	Cheongju KB Stars (South Korea)
18	Loryn Goodwin #	United States	Dallas Wings	Oklahoma State
19	Myisha Hines-Allen x		Washington Mystics	Louisville
20	Tyler Scaife #		Phoenix Mercury	Rutgers
21	Raisa Musina #	Russia	Phoenix Mercury (from Connecticut) [h]	UMMC Ekaterinburg (Russia)
22	Mercedes Russell	United States	New York Liberty	Tennessee
23	Shakayla Thomas #		Los Angeles Sparks	Florida State
24	Kahlia Lawrence #(traded to Las Vegas) [f]		Minnesota Lynx	Mercer

Round 3

Pick	Player	Nationality	Team	School / club team
25	Raigyne Louis	United States	Las Vegas Aces	LSU
26	Imani Wright		Phoenix Mercury (from Indiana via Las Vegas) [i] [j]	Florida State
27	Mackenzie Engram #		Atlanta Dream	Georgia
28	Amarah Coleman #		Chicago Sky	DePaul
29	Teana Muldrow		Seattle Storm	West Virginia
30	Natalie Butler#		Dallas Wings	George Mason
31	Rebecca Greenwell #		Washington Mystics	Duke
32	Jill Barta #(traded to Minnesota) [f]		Las Vegas Aces (from Phoenix) [k]	Gonzaga
33	Mikayla Cowling  [ fr ]#		Connecticut Sun	California
34	Leslie Robinson #		New York Liberty	Princeton
35	Julia Reisingerova  [ ca ]#	Czech Republic	Los Angeles Sparks	Femeni Sant Adrià (Spain)
36	Carlie Wagner #	United States	Minnesota Lynx	Minnesota

Viewership

The draft was telecast on ESPN2 (1st round) and ESPNU (2nd and 3rd rounds). The draft had an average audience of 212,000, which was an increase of 25% compared to the 2017 WNBA draft. The first round experienced an increase of 13% compared to 2017, with an average audience of 308,000. The 2nd and 3rd rounds saw a 49% increase in average viewers compared to 2017 (110,000 vs. 74,000). The 2018 draft was the most watched draft since 2014. ^[17]

Footnotes

1. July 31, 2017: Atlanta to Chicago ^[4]
   • Atlanta acquired Imani Boyette, Tamera Young and 2018 second round pick
   • Chicago acquired Jordan Hooper and 2018 first round pick
2. March 6, 2018: Phoenix to Indiana ^[7]
   • Indiana received 2018 No. 8 pick
   • Phoenix received Briann January
3. March 6, 2018: Minnesota to Phoenix ^[8]
   • Phoenix received 2018 No. 12 pick
   • Minnesota received Danielle Robinson and a 2019 second round pick
4. April 12, 2018: Connecticut to Atlanta ^[9]
   • Atlanta re-acquired the 2018 No. 15 pick and received a 2019 second-round pick
   • Connecticut received Bria Holmes
5. June 8, 2017: Atlanta to Connecticut ^[10]
   • Connecticut received a 2018 second-round pick
   • Atlanta received Jordan Hooper
6. April 13, 2018: Las Vegas to Minnesota ^[11]
   • Las Vegas acquired rights to Park Ji-su and Kahlia Lawrence
   • Minnesota acquired rights to Jill Barta and a 2019 second round pick
7. February 7, 2018: Seattle to Minnesota ^[12]
   • Minnesota received the 2018 No. 17 pick and the ability to swap 2019 first round picks
   • Seattle received Natasha Howard
8. February 2, 2018: Connecticut to Phoenix ^[13]
   • Phoenix received the 2018 No. 21 pick
   • Connecticut received Cayla George
9. February 2, 2018: Las Vegas to Phoenix ^[14]
   • Phoenix received the 2018 No. 26 pick and a 2019 second-round pick
   • Las Vegas received Kelsey Bone
10. May 9, 2017: Indiana to Las Vegas (San Antonio) ^[15]
    • San Antonio received a 2018 third round pick
    • Indiana received Jazmon Gwathmey
11. June 28, 2017: Phoenix to Las Vegas (San Antonio) ^[16]
    • San Antonio received Shay Murphy, Sophie Brunner, and a 2018 third round pick
    • Phoenix received Monique Currie

See also

• List of first overall WNBA draft picks

References

1. Voepel, Mechelle (March 12, 2018). "2018 WNBA draft to be held April 12 at Nike New York headquarters". espn.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
2. "WNBA Draft 2018 Presented By State Farm to be Held on April 12 in New York" (Press release). WNBA. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
3. "Las Vegas Wins Top Pick In 2018 WNBA Draft Presented By State Farm®". WNBA. November 13, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
4. "Dream Acquire Boyette, Young, Pick from Chicago Sky". WNBA. August 1, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
5. "Senior Watch: Preseason Edition". wnba.com. WNBA. November 7, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
6. South Carolina’s Wilson Headlines List of Top College Prospects to Attend WNBA Draft 2018 Presented by State Farm
7. "Fever Acquire No. 8 Pick in WNBA draft in Exchange for Briann January". Indiana Fever. WNBA. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
8. "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Guard Danielle Robinson and a 2019 Second Round Pick in Exchange for a 2018 First Round Pick". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
9. "Atlanta Dream Trade Bria Holmes to Connecticut Sun". Atlanta Dream. WNBA. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
10. "Sun trade Hooper to Dream". Connecticut Sun. WNBA. June 8, 2017.
11. "Lynx Make Trade On Draft Night, Add Two Pieces Including Familiar Face". WNBA. April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
12. "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Multiple Draft Picks in Exchange for Forward Natasha Howard". Minnesota Lynx. WNBA. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
13. "Sun Acquire George From Mercury". Connecticut Sun. WNBA. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
14. "Mercury Acquires Two Draft Picks in Sign-And-Trade Deal". Phoenix Mercury. WNBA. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
15. "Stars trade guard Jazmon Gwathmey to Fever in exchange for 2018 Draft 3rd round pick". Hoopfeed. May 9, 2017.
16. "Phoenix Mercury Acquires Monique Currie". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
17. "ESPN's Audience for WNBA Draft 2018 Presented by State Farm Up +25%; ESPN2 Telecast Most-Watched Since 2014". wnba.com. WNBA. April 16, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.