2016 WNBA draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)April 14, 2016
LocationMohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Network(s)ESPN2 (first round)
ESPNU (second and third rounds)
Overview
LeagueWNBA
First selectionBreanna 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. The winner of the lottery, the Seattle Storm, picked first, marking the first pick for the Storm for the second straight year.[4]

Lottery chances

This is the third time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds. The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2014 and 2015 WNBA season. Seattle Storm, the worst two-year record, was guaranteed with at least the third pick.

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
Bold Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year

Draft selections

Round 1

Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
1 Breanna Stewart +  United States Seattle Storm Connecticut
2 Moriah Jefferson  United States San Antonio Stars Connecticut
3 Morgan Tuck  United States Connecticut Sun Connecticut
4 Rachel Banham  United States Connecticut Sun[a] Minnesota
5 Aerial Powers  United States Dallas Wings[b] Michigan State
6 Jonquel Jones +  Bahamas Connecticut Sun from Los Angeles Sparks[c] George Washington
7 Kahleah Copper +  United States Washington Mystics Rutgers
8 Courtney Williams +  United States Phoenix Mercury South Florida
9 Tiffany Mitchell  United States Indiana Fever South Carolina
10 Imani Boyette  United States Chicago Sky Texas
11 Bria Holmes  United States Atlanta Dream[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[e] Rutgers
14 Jazmon Gwathmey  United States
 Puerto Rico 		Minnesota Lynx[f] (then traded to San Antonio)[7] James Madison
15 Whitney Knight  United States Los Angeles Sparks from Connecticut Sun Florida Gulf Coast
16 Courtney Walker  United States Atlanta Dream Texas A&M
17 Jamie Weisner  Canada[g] Connecticut Sun from Los Angeles Sparks Oregon State
18 Ruth Hamblin  Canada Dallas Wings Oregon State
19 Lia Galdeira  United States Washington Mystics Washington State
20 Jillian Alleyne  United States Phoenix Mercury Oregon
21 Brene Moseley  United States Indiana Fever Maryland
22 Bashaara Graves  United States Minnesota Lynx[h] Tennessee
23 Brianna Butler  United States Los Angeles Sparks from Connecticut Sun[i] Syracuse
24 Ameryst Alston  United States New York Liberty Ohio State

Third round

Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
25 Brittney Martin  United States San Antonio Stars Oklahoma State
26 Lexi Eaton Rydalch  United States Seattle Storm BYU
27 Aliyyah Handford  United States Connecticut Sun St. John's
28 Niya Johnson  United States Atlanta Dream Baylor
29 Talia Walton  United States Los Angeles Sparks Washington
30 Shakena Richardson  United States Dallas Wings Seton Hall
31 Danaejah Grant  United States 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

Notable prospects

On September 24, 2015, WNBA.com posted notable prospects for the draft. The list included:[9]

The WNBA also selected twelve players to be in attendance at the draft. Those twelve were:[10]

  1. Rachel Banham, Minnesota
  2. Imani Boyette, Texas
  3. Kahleah Copper, Rutgers
  4. Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut
  5. Jonquel Jones, George Washington
  6. Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina
  7. Aerial Powers, Michigan State
  8. Breanna Stewart, Connecticut
  9. Morgan Tuck, Connecticut
  10. Courtney Walker, Texas A&M
  11. Talia Walton, Washington
  12. Courtney Williams, South Florida

Of those 12 players, 10 were picked in the 1st round. Only Courtney Walker and Talia Walton were picked later.

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Dream traded this pick to Connecticut in exchange for Elizabeth Williams.[5]
  2. ^ Dallas and Los Angeles traded first-round picks in this draft; Dallas also received Erin Phillips.[6]
  3. ^ Los Angeles and Dallas traded first-round picks in this draft; Los Angeles also received Riquna Williams and a 2017 first-round pick.[6]
  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.[8]
  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

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. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  4. ^ Seattle Storm Wins Top Pick For 2016 WNBA Draft Presented By State Farm - WNBA
  5. ^ "Seattle Connecticut Sun trade F/C Elizabeth Williams to Dream for No. 4 draft pick". espn.go.com. ESPN. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Sparks acquire Riquna Williams in swap of high picks with Wings". espn.go.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  7. ^ "Lynx Acquire WNBA All-Star Jia Perkins From San Antonio - Minnesota Lynx". Minnesota Lynx. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  8. ^ "Bio: #15 Jamie Weisner". Oregon State Beavers. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  9. ^ Notable Prospects in the 2016 WNBA Draft
  10. ^ "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.
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