WNBA elite draft

In 1997, the Women's National Basketball Association was created. In order to give new teams reasonable talent, the league decided to have two drafts. There was the normal collegiate draft that most professional sports leagues hold. There was also the WNBA elite draft. The elite draft allowed teams to pick players that have already graduated from college and have gone on to play professionally on other American teams or overseas.

The following is the list of how players were picked in the 1997 WNBA elite draft.[1] After this draft, the normal collegiate draft took place.[2]

Round 1

Pick Player Nationality WNBA Team School/Club Team
1 Dena Head (G)  United States Utah Starzz Tennessee
2 Isabelle Fijalkowski (C/F)  France Cleveland Rockers Colorado
3 Rhonda Mapp (C/F)  United States Charlotte Sting North Carolina State
4 Kym Hampton (C/F)  United States New York Liberty Arizona State
5 Wanda Guyton (F)  United States Houston Comets South Florida
6 Judy Mosley-McAfee (F)  United States Sacramento Monarchs Hawaii
7 Bridget Pettis (F)  United States Phoenix Mercury Florida
8 Daedra Charles (C)  United States Los Angeles Sparks Tennessee

Round 2

Pick Player Nationality WNBA Team School/Club Team
9 Wendy Palmer (F)  United States Utah Starzz Virginia
10 Lynette Woodard (G)  United States Cleveland Rockers Kansas
11 Michi Atkins (F)  United States Charlotte Sting Texas Tech
12 Vickie Johnson (F)  United States New York Liberty Louisiana Tech
13 Janeth Arcain (F)  Brazil Houston Comets Brazil
14 Mikiko Hagiwara (G)  Japan Sacramento Monarchs Japan
15 Nancy Lieberman-Cline (G)  United States Phoenix Mercury Old Dominion
16 Zheng Haixia (C)  China Los Angeles Sparks China

References

  1. ^ "WNBA, list". Idaho Spokesman-Review. March 1, 1997. pp. C4. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "WNBA holds elite draft". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 28, 1997. pp. 3C.