WNBA elite draft
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| WNBA elite draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| DateTemplate:Pluralize from text | February 27, 1997 |
| Overview | |
| League | WNBA |
| First selection | Dena Head, Tennessee |
| Template:Succession links | |
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In 1997, the Women's National Basketball Association was created.[1] In order to give new teams experienced talent, the league decided to have two drafts. An elite draft was held on February 27, 1997 to allow teams to pick players that had already graduated from college and have gone on to play professionally in the United States or overseas.[2]
The standard collegiate draft that most professional sports leagues hold occurred on April 28, 1997, prior to the start of the 1997 WNBA season.[3]
Key
| Pos. | G | F | C |
| Position | Guard | Forward | Center |
| ! | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith 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 |
| # | Denotes player who never played in the WNBA regular season or playoffs |
Draft
The following is the list of how players were picked in the 1997 WNBA elite draft:[4]
Round 1
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | WNBA team | Former school/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dena Head | G | Script error: No such module "flag". | Utah Starzz | Tennessee |
| 2 | Isabelle Fijalkowski | C/F | Script error: No such module "flag". | Cleveland Rockers | Colorado |
| 3 | Rhonda Mapp | C/F | Script error: No such module "flag". | Charlotte Sting | North Carolina State |
| 4 | Kym Hampton + | C/F | New York Liberty | Arizona State | |
| 5 | Wanda Guyton | F | Houston Comets | South Florida | |
| 6 | Judy Mosley-McAfee | F | Sacramento Monarchs | Hawaii | |
| 7 | Bridget Pettis | F | Phoenix Mercury | Florida | |
| 8 | Daedra Charles ^ | C | Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee |
Round 2
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | WNBA team | Former school/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Wendy Palmer * | F | Script error: No such module "flag". | Utah Starzz | Virginia |
| 10 | Lynette Woodard ^ ! | G | Cleveland Rockers | Kansas | |
| 11 | Michi Atkins # | F | Charlotte Sting | Texas Tech | |
| 12 | Vickie Johnson + | F | New York Liberty | Louisiana Tech | |
| 13 | Janeth Arcain * ^ | F | Script error: No such module "flag". | Houston Comets | Polti |
| 14 | Mikiko Hagiwara | G | Template:Flagcountry | Sacramento Monarchs | Japan Energy Griffins |
| 15 | Nancy Lieberman-Cline | G | Script error: No such module "flag". | Phoenix Mercury | Old Dominion |
| 16 | Haixia Zheng | C | Script error: No such module "flag". | Los Angeles Sparks | China |
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Formation of the WNBA". WNBA. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mishra, Pratikshya (April 15, 2025). "Revisiting the WNBA's Historic 1997 Draft: Meet the Players Who Were Part of the Elite Draft". MSN. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."WNBA holds elite draft". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 28, 1997. pp. 3C.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."WNBA, list". Idaho Spokesman-Review. March 1, 1997. pp. C4. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
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