2020 WNBA draft
Draft of incoming WNBA players for the 2020 season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2020 WNBA draft was the league's draft for the 2020 WNBA season. A draft lottery was held on September 17, 2019 and the New York Liberty were awarded the first overall pick in the draft.[1][2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the draft was held virtually without players, guests, and the media on-site. The draft was televised as planned;[3] it was the most-watched WNBA draft in 16 years and the second most-watched in ESPN's history.[4]
| 2020 WNBA Draft | |
|---|---|
| |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | April 17, 2020 |
| Location | Virtually |
| Network(s) | USA: ESPN Canada: TSN2/SN1 |
| Overview | |
| League | WNBA |
| Teams | 12 |
| First selection | Sabrina Ionescu New York Liberty |
Draft lottery
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The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2020 draft took place during halftime of the Connecticut Sun's semifinal game against the Los Angeles Sparks on September 17, 2019 and was televised on ESPN2. Four non-playoff teams qualified for the lottery drawing: Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, New York Liberty, and Atlanta Dream.[1]
The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2018 and 2019 WNBA seasons. In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1–14 are placed in a lottery machine and mixed. Four balls are drawn to determine a four-digit combination (only 11–12–13–14 is ignored & redrawn). The team assigned that four-ball combination receives the No. 1 pick. The four balls are then placed back into the machine and the process is repeated to determine the second pick. The two teams whose numerical combinations do not come up in the lottery will select in the inverse order of their two-year cumulative record. Ernst & Young knows the discreet results before they're announced.[1]
The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third rounds was determined by inverse order of the teams' respective regular-season records from 2019.[1]
Lottery chances
The lottery was won by the New York Liberty, who had the best chance to win the lottery. The Dallas Wings were awarded the second pick, followed by the Indiana Fever and finally the Atlanta Dream.[2]
Note: Team selected for the No. 1 pick noted in bold text.
| Team | Combined 2018–19 Record | Lottery Chances | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Liberty | 17–51 | 44.2% | 1st pick |
| Indiana Fever | 19–49 | 27.6% | 3rd pick |
| Dallas Wings | 25–43 | 17.8% | 2nd pick |
| Atlanta Dream | 31–37 | 10.4% | 4th pick |
Eligibility
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Under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the WNBA and its players union, draft eligibility for players not defined as "international" requires the following to be true:[5]
- The player's 22nd birthday falls during the calendar year of the draft. For this draft, the cutoff birth date is December 31, 1998.
- She has either:
- completed her college eligibility;
- received a bachelor's degree, or is scheduled to receive such in the 3 months following the draft; or
- is at least 4 years removed from high school graduation.
A player who is scheduled to receive her bachelor's degree within 3 months of the draft date, and is younger than the cutoff age, is only eligible if the calendar year of the draft is no earlier than the fourth after her high school graduation.
Players with remaining college eligibility who meet the cutoff age must notify the WNBA headquarters of their intent to enter the draft no later than 10 days before the draft date, and must renounce any remaining college eligibility to do so. A separate notification timetable is provided for players involved in postseason tournaments (most notably the NCAA Division I tournament); those players must declare for the draft within 24 hours of their final game. The latter timetable proved to be moot due to the coronavirus-induced cancellation of the 2020 NCAA tournament.
"International players" are defined as those for whom all of the following is true:
- Born and currently residing outside the U.S.
- Never "exercised intercollegiate basketball eligibility" in the U.S.
For "international players", the eligibility age is 20, also measured on December 31 of the year of the draft.
Three players with remaining college eligibility, all of whom were juniors in the 2019–20 college season, declared for the draft. All three were drafted in the first round:
- Satou Sabally of Oregon announced on February 20 that she would enter the draft upon the end of Oregon's 2019–20 season. Although a German citizen, she falls under the rules for U.S. players not only because of playing at Oregon, but also via her birth in New York City.[6]
- Megan Walker of UConn declared on March 14, after the cancellation of the NCAA tournament.[7]
- Chennedy Carter of Texas A&M declared on March 29.[8]
Draft
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| * | 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 |
| Bold | Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year |
Honorary picks
The WNBA honored Alyssa Altobelli, Payton Chester, and Gianna Bryant, daughter of Hall of Fame basketball player Kobe Bryant, who all died in the 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash, with honorary draft picks.[9]
First round
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sabrina Ionescu * | G |  United States |
New York Liberty | Oregon |
| 2 | Satou Sabally * | F |  Germany |
Dallas Wings | Oregon |
| 3 | Lauren Cox | F/C | United States |
Indiana Fever | Baylor |
| 4 | Chennedy Carter | G | United States |
Atlanta Dream | Texas A&M |
| 5 | Bella Alarie | F | United States |
Dallas Wings (from Phoenix)[a] | Princeton |
| 6 | Mikiah Herbert Harrigan | F |  United Kingdom |
Minnesota Lynx | South Carolina |
| 7 | Tyasha Harris | G | United States |
Dallas Wings (from Seattle via Connecticut and Phoenix)[a][b][c] | South Carolina |
| 8 | Ruthy Hebard | F | United States |
Chicago Sky | Oregon |
| 9 | Megan Walker | F | United States |
New York Liberty (from Las Vegas via Dallas)[d][e] | UConn |
| 10 | Jocelyn Willoughby | F/G | United States |
Phoenix Mercury (from Los Angeles via Connecticut)[c][f] | Virginia |
| 11 | Kitija Laksa# | F |  Latvia |
Seattle Storm (from Connecticut)[b] | South Florida/TTT Riga (Latvia) |
| 12 | Jazmine Jones | G | United States |
New York Liberty (from Washington)[e] | Louisville |
Second round
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Kylee Shook | F | United States |
New York Liberty (from Atlanta)[g] | Louisville |
| 14 | Kathleen Doyle | G | United States |
Indiana Fever (from New York via Minnesota)[h][i] | Iowa |
| 15 | Leaonna Odom | F | United States |
New York Liberty (from Dallas)[e] | Duke |
| 16 | Crystal Dangerfield | G | United States |
Minnesota Lynx (from Indiana)[i] | UConn |
| 17 | Brittany Brewer | F | United States |
Atlanta Dream (from Phoenix)[j] | Texas Tech |
| 18 | Te'a Cooper | G | United States |
Phoenix Mercury (from Minnesota)[k] | Baylor |
| 19 | Joyner Holmes | F | United States |
Seattle Storm | Texas |
| 20 | Beatrice Mompremier | F | United States |
Los Angeles Sparks (from Chicago)[l] | Miami (FL) |
| 21 | Luisa Geiselsöder# | C | Germany |
Dallas Wings (from Las Vegas)[d] | Donau-Ries (Germany) |
| 22 | Leonie Fiebich | F | Germany |
Los Angeles Sparks | Wasserburg (Germany) |
| 23 | Kaila Charles | G | United States |
Connecticut Sun | Maryland |
| 24 | Jaylyn Agnew | F | United States |
Washington Mystics | Creighton |
Third round
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Mikayla Pivec# | G | United States |
Atlanta Dream | Oregon State |
| 26 | Erica Ogwumike# | G | United States |
New York Liberty | Rice |
| 27 | Kobi Thornton# | F | United States |
Atlanta Dream (from Dallas)[m] | Clemson |
| 28 | Kamiah Smalls | G | United States |
Indiana Fever | James Madison |
| 29 | Stella Johnson | G | United States |
Phoenix Mercury | Rider |
| 30 | Japreece Dean# | G | United States |
Chicago Sky (from Minnesota)[n] | UCLA |
| 31 | Haley Gorecki | G | United States |
Seattle Storm | Duke |
| 32 | Kiah Gillespie# | F | United States |
Chicago Sky | Florida State |
| 33 | Lauren Manis# | F | United States |
Las Vegas Aces | Holy Cross |
| 34 | Tynice Martin# | G | United States |
Los Angeles Sparks | West Virginia |
| 35 | Juicy Landrum# | G | United States |
Connecticut Sun | Baylor |
| 36 | Sug Sutton | G | United States |
Washington Mystics | Texas |
Footnotes
- February 12, 2020: Phoenix to Dallas[10]
- Dallas acquired the fifth and seventh picks and a future first-round pick
- Phoenix acquired Skylar Diggins-Smith
- February 10, 2020: Connecticut to Seattle[11]
- Connecticut acquired the seventh pick
- Seattle acquired the 11th pick and Morgan Tuck
- February 11, 2020: Connecticut to Phoenix[12]
- Phoenix acquired the seventh and tenth picks and a 2021 first-round pick
- Connecticut acquired DeWanna Bonner
- May 16, 2019: Las Vegas to Dallas[13]
- Dallas acquired the ninth and 21st picks, Moriah Jefferson, and Isabelle Harrison
- Las Vegas acquired Liz Cambage
- April 15, 2020: Three-team trade[14]
- New York acquired the 12th pick; Shatori Walker-Kimbrough; and 2021 first, second, and third-round picks from Washington; Las Vegas's first-round pick (ninth overall), the 15th pick, and Tayler Hill from Dallas
- Washington acquired Tina Charles from New York
- Dallas acquired Washington's 2021 first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick from New York
- April 27, 2019: Los Angeles to Connecticut[15]
- Connecticut acquired the tenth pick
- Los Angeles acquired Chiney Ogwumike
- April 11, 2019: Atlanta to New York (three-team trade with Las Vegas)[16]
- New York acquired the 13th pick from Atlanta
- Atlanta acquired Nia Coffey from Las Vegas
- Las Vegas acquired Sugar Rodgers from New York
- April 11, 2019: New York to Minnesota[17]
- Minnesota acquired the 14th pick
- New York acquired Tanisha Wright
- March 6, 2020: Minnesota to Indiana[18]
- Indiana acquired the 14th pick and a 2021 second-round pick
- Minnesota acquired Shenise Johnson and the 16th pick
- February 19, 2020: Phoenix to Atlanta (three-team trade with Connecticut)[19]
- Atlanta acquired the 17th pick from Phoenix and Courtney Williams from Connecticut
- Phoenix acquired Jessica Breland and Nia Coffey from Atlanta
- Connecticut acquired Briann January and a 2021 second-round pick from Phoenix
- May 21, 2019: Minnesota to Phoenix[20]
- Phoenix acquired the 18th pick
- Minnesota acquired Stephanie Talbot
- May 20, 2019: Chicago to Los Angeles[21]
- Los Angeles acquired the 20th pick
- Chicago acquired Jantel Lavender
- May 16, 2019: Dallas to Atlanta[22]
- Atltanta acquired the 27th pick
- Dallas acquired Imani McGee-Stafford
- May 21, 2019: Minnesota to Chicago[23]
- Chicago acquired the 30th pick
- Minnesota acquired Alaina Coates
See also
References
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