2018 WNBA draft
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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]
Contents
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
All odds out of 1,000 based on percentages. (The 11-12-13-14 combination is ignored.)
- Las Vegas Aces (44.2%) - WON
- Indiana Fever (27.6%)
- Chicago Sky (via Atlanta Dream) (17.8%)
- Chicago Sky (10.4%)
The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2016 and 2017 WNBA seasons. 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 retains the best odds.
This is the fifth time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds and second consecutive #1 Pick for Vegas - with the other being used on Kelsey Plum last year when the team was still in San Antonio.
Draft Invitees
On April 6, 2018, the WNBA released the names of the players who would be invited to be in attendance at the draft.[3]
- 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 |
Draft selections
Round 1
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A'ja Wilson + |  United States |
Las Vegas Aces | South Carolina |
| 2 | Kelsey Mitchell | United States |
Indiana Fever | Ohio State |
| 3 | Diamond DeShields + | United States |
Chicago Sky (from Atlanta)[lower-alpha 1] | Tennessee / Çukurova (Turkish Super League) |
| 4 | Gabby Williams | United States |
Chicago Sky | UConn |
| 5 | Jordin Canada | United States |
Seattle Storm | UCLA |
| 6 | Azurá Stevens | United States |
Dallas Wings | UConn |
| 7 | Ariel Atkins + | United States |
Washington Mystics | Texas |
| 8 | Victoria Vivians | United States |
Indiana Fever (from Phoenix)[lower-alpha 2] | Mississippi State |
| 9 | Lexie Brown | United States |
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)[lower-alpha 3] | Oregon State |
Round 2
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Jaime Nared | United States |
Las Vegas Aces | Tennessee |
| 14 | Stephanie Mavunga | United States |
Indiana Fever | Ohio State |
| 15 | Monique Billings | United States |
Atlanta Dream (from Atlanta via Connecticut)[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] | UCLA |
| 16 | Kristy Wallace |  Australia |
Atlanta Dream (from Chicago)[lower-alpha 6] | Baylor |
| 17 | Park Ji-su |  South Korea |
Minnesota Lynx (from Seattle)[lower-alpha 7] | Cheongju KB Stars (South Korea) |
| 18 | Loryn Goodwin | United States |
Dallas Wings | Oklahoma State |
| 19 | Myisha Hines-Allen | United States |
Washington Mystics | Louisville |
| 20 | Tyler Scaife | United States |
Phoenix Mercury | Rutgers |
| 21 | Raisa Musina | Russia |
Phoenix Mercury (from Connecticut)[lower-alpha 8] | UMMC Ekaterinburg (Russia) |
| 22 | Mercedes Russell | United States |
New York Liberty | Tennessee |
| 23 | Shakayla Thomas | United States |
Los Angeles Sparks | Florida State |
| 24 | Kahlia Lawrence | United States |
Minnesota Lynx | Mercer |
Round 3
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Raigyne Louis | United States |
Las Vegas Aces | LSU |
| 26 | Imani Wright | United States |
Phoenix Mercury (from Indiana via Las Vegas)[lower-alpha 9][lower-alpha 10] | Florida State |
| 27 | Mackenzie Engram | United States |
Atlanta Dream | Georgia |
| 28 | Amarah Coleman | United States |
Chicago Sky | DePaul |
| 29 | Teana Muldrow | United States |
Seattle Storm | West Virginia |
| 30 | Natalie Butler | United States |
Dallas Wings | George Mason |
| 31 | Rebecca Greenwell | United States |
Washington Mystics | Duke |
| 32 | Jill Barta | United States |
Las Vegas Aces (from Phoenix)[lower-alpha 11] | Gonzaga |
| 33 | Mikayla Cowling | United States |
Connecticut Sun | California |
| 34 | Leslie Robinson | United States |
New York Liberty | Princeton |
| 35 | Julia Reisingerova |  Czech Republic |
Los Angeles Sparks | Femeni Sant Adrià (Spain) |
| 36 | Carlie Wagner | United States |
Minnesota Lynx | Minnesota |
Draft Trades
The Las Vegas Aces traded the rights to Jill Barta and their 2019 2nd round pick to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the rights to Park Ji-su and the rights to Kahlia Lawrence.
Notable Prospects
On November 7, 2017, WNBA.com posted notable prospects for the draft. The list included:[14]
- 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
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 is 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.[15]
Footnotes
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- ↑ South Carolina’s Wilson Headlines List of Top College Prospects to Attend WNBA Draft 2018 Presented by State Farm
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