List of first overall WNBA draft picks

Last updated

The Women's National Basketball Association's first overall pick is the player who is selected first among all eligible draftees by a team during the annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft. The first pick is awarded to the team that wins the WNBA draft lottery; in most cases, that team had a losing record in the previous season.

Contents

Eight first picks have won the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award: Lauren Jackson (three-time winner), Candace Parker (two-time winner), Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, and A'ja Wilson. Candace Parker is the only player to win the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award during her rookie year.

Fourteen first picks have won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award: Chamique Holdsclaw, Diana Taurasi, Seimone Augustus, Candace Parker, Angel McCoughtry, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike, Jewell Loyd, Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson, Rhyne Howard, and Aliyah Boston.

Four collegiate programs have multiple players that were selected first overall: UConn with five, Tennessee with three, and Notre Dame, South Carolina and Stanford with two each.

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
BoldDenotes player who won Rookie of the Year
PPGPoints per game [lower-alpha 1]
APGAssists per game [lower-alpha 1]
RPGRebounds per game [lower-alpha 1]

List of first overall picks

The 2002 first overall draft pick, Sue Bird. She was also the first pick from Connecticut as the first overall. Sue Bird 2012.jpg
The 2002 first overall draft pick, Sue Bird. She was also the first pick from Connecticut as the first overall.
DraftSelected byPlayerCountryPositionCollege / high school / former clubWNBA rookie statisticsRef.
PPGRPGAPG
1997 (Elite) [lower-alpha 2] Utah Starzz Dena Head Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Tennessee 5.72.31.7 [1]
1997 Houston Comets Tina Thompson *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward USC 13.26.61.1 [2]
1998 Utah Starzz Margo Dydek +Flag of Poland.svg  POL Center Fota Porta Gdynia (Poland)12.97.61.8 [3]
1999 Washington Mystics Chamique Holdsclaw *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Tennessee 16.97.92.4 [4]
2000 Cleveland Rockers Ann Wauters +Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Center USV Olympic (France)6.24.01.2 [5]
2001 Seattle Storm Lauren Jackson *Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Forward-Center Canberra Capitals (Australia)15.26.71.5 [6]
2002 Seattle Storm Sue Bird *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Connecticut 14.42.66.0 [7]
2003 Cleveland Rockers LaToya Thomas Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Mississippi State 10.85.11.2 [8]
2004 Phoenix Mercury Diana Taurasi *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Connecticut 17.04.43.9 [9]
2005 Charlotte Sting Janel McCarville Flag of the United States.svg  USA Center Minnesota 1.82.70.4 [10]
2006 Minnesota Lynx Seimone Augustus *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward LSU 21.93.81.5 [11]
2007 Phoenix Mercury Lindsey Harding Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Duke 11.74.43.9 [12]
2008 Los Angeles Sparks Candace Parker * [lower-alpha 3] Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Tennessee 18.59.53.4 [13]
2009 Atlanta Dream Angel McCoughtry *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Louisville 12.83.12.1 [14]
2010 Connecticut Sun Tina Charles *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Center Connecticut 15.511.71.5 [15]
2011 Minnesota Lynx Maya Moore *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Connecticut 13.24.62.6 [16]
2012 Los Angeles Sparks Nneka Ogwumike *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Stanford 14.07.51.2 [17]
2013 Phoenix Mercury Brittney Griner *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Center Baylor 12.66.31.0 [18]
2014 Connecticut Sun Chiney Ogwumike +Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Stanford 15.58.50.6 [19]
2015 Seattle Storm Jewell Loyd *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Notre Dame 10.73.51.9 [20]
2016 Seattle Storm Breanna Stewart *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward Connecticut 18.39.33.4 [21]
2017 San Antonio Stars

Kelsey Plum *

Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Washington 8.51.93.4 [22]
2018 Las Vegas Aces A'ja Wilson *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Forward South Carolina 20.78.02.2 [23]
2019 Las Vegas Aces Jackie Young *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Notre Dame 6.63.34.5 [24]
2020 New York Liberty Sabrina Ionescu *Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Oregon 18.34.74.0 [25]
2021 Dallas Wings (from New York via Seattle) Charli Collier Flag of the United States.svg  USA Center Texas 3.43.60.2 [26]
2022 Atlanta Dream (from Washington) Rhyne Howard Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Kentucky 16.24.52.8 [27]
2023 Indiana Fever Aliyah Boston Flag of the United States.svg  USA Center South Carolina 14.58.42.2 [28]
2024 Indiana Fever Caitlin Clark Flag of the United States.svg  USA Guard Iowa

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 All statistics are taken from the players' respective rookie season unless otherwise noted.
  2. The elite draft portion comprised professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues.
  3. Candace Parker also won the WNBA MVP award during her rookie year.

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References

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  2. "Tina Thompson WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  3. "Margo Dydek WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  4. "Chamique Holdsclaw WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  5. "Ann Wauters WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  6. "Lauren Jackson WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  7. "Sue Bird WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  8. "LaToya Thomas WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  9. "LaToya Thomas WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  10. "Janel McCarville WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  11. "Seimone Augustus WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  12. "Lindsey Harding WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  13. "Candace Parker WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  14. "Angel McCoughtry WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  15. "Tina Charles WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  16. "Maya Moore WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  17. "Nneka Ogwumike WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  18. "Brittney Griner WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  19. "Chiney Ogwumike WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  20. "Jewell Loyd WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  21. "Breanna Stewart WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  22. "Record-setting guard Kelsey Plum goes to San Antonio Stars with top pick". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  23. "A'ja Wilson WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  24. "Jackie Young WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  25. "Sabrina Ionescu WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  26. "Charli Collier WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  27. "Rhyne Howard WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  28. "Aliyah Boston WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-04-16.