2018 WNBA draft

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]

2018 WNBA draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)April 12, 2018
LocationNike New York Headquarters, New York City
Network(s)ESPN2 (First Round)
ESPNU (Second and Third Rounds)
Overview
LeagueWNBA
First selectionA'ja Wilson
Las Vegas Aces

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.)

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]

Key
+ 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 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 (Turkey)
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 Reisingerová  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]

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
  1. July 31, 2017: Atlanta to Chicago[4]
  2. March 6, 2018: Phoenix to Indiana[5]
  3. March 6, 2018: Minnesota to Phoenix[6]
    • Phoenix received this pick
    • Minnesota received Danielle Robinson and a 2019 second-round pick
  4. April 12, 2018: Connecticut to Atlanta[7]
    • Atlanta re-acquired this pick and received a 2019 second-round pick from Connecticut
    • Connecticut received Bria Holmes
  5. June 8, 2017: Atlanta to Connecticut[8]
    • Connecticut received a 2018 second-round pick
    • Atlanta received Jordan Hooper
  6. July 31, 2017: Chicago to Atlanta. See Note A.
  7. February 7, 2018: Seattle to Minnesota[9]
    • Minnesota received this pick and the ability to swap 2019 first-round picks
    • Seattle received Natasha Howard
  8. February 2, 2018: Connecticut to Phoenix[10]
    • Phoenix received this pick
    • Connecticut received Cayla George
  9. February 2, 2018: Las Vegas to Phoenix[11]
    • Phoenix received this pick and a 2019 second-round pick
    • Las Vegas received Kelsey Bone
  10. May 9, 2017: Indiana to Las Vegas (San Antonio Stars)[12]
  11. June 28, 2017: Phoenix to Las Vegas (San Antonio)[13]

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. South Carolina’s Wilson Headlines List of Top College Prospects to Attend WNBA Draft 2018 Presented by State Farm
  4. "Atlanta Acquires Young and Boyette in Deal with Chicago for Hooper, Draft Pick". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  5. "Fever Acquire No. 8 Pick in WNBA Draft in Exchange for Briann January". Indiana Fever. WNBA. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  6. "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.
  7. "Atlanta Dream Trade Bria Holmes to Connecticut Sun". Atlanta Dream. WNBA. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  8. "Sun trade Hooper to Dream". Connecticut Sun. WNBA. June 8, 2017.
  9. "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Multiple Draft Picks in Exchange for Forward Natasha Howard". Minnesota Lynx. WNBA. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  10. "Sun Acquire George From Mercury". Connecticut Sun. WNBA. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  11. "Mercury Acquires Two Draft Picks in Sign-And-Trade Deal". Phoenix Mercury. WNBA. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  12. "Stars trade guard Jazmon Gwathmey to Fever in exchange for 2018 Draft 3rd round pick". Hoopfeed. May 9, 2017.
  13. "Phoenix Mercury Acquires Monique Currie". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  14. "Senior Watch: Preseason Edition". wnba.com. WNBA. November 7, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  15. "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.
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