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List of first overall WNBA draft picks

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The Women's National Basketball Association's first overall pick is the player who is selected first among all eligible draftees by a team during the annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Draft. The first pick is awarded to the team that wins the WNBA draft lottery; in most cases, that team had a losing record in the previous season.

Eight first picks have won the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award: Lauren Jackson (three-time winner), Candace Parker (two-time winner), Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, and A'ja Wilson. Candace Parker is the only player to win the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award during her rookie year.

Twelve first picks have won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award: Chamique Holdsclaw, Diana Taurasi, Seimone Augustus, Candace Parker, Angel McCoughtry, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike, Jewell Loyd, Breanna Stewart, and A'ja Wilson.

Four collegiate programs have multiple players that were selected first overall: Connecticut with five, Tennessee with three, and Notre Dame and Stanford with two each.

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
PPG Points per game[a]
APG Assists per game[a]
RPG Rebounds per game[a]

List of first overall picks

The 2002 first overall draft pick, Sue Bird. She was also the first pick from Connecticut as the first overall.
Draft Selected by Player Country Position College / high school / former club WNBA rookie statistics Ref.
PPG RPG APG
1997 (Elite)[b] Utah Starzz Dena Head USA Guard Tennessee 5.7 2.3 1.7 [1]
1997 Houston Comets Tina Thompson* USA Forward USC 13.2 6.6 1.1 [2]
1998 Utah Starzz Margo Dydek+ POL Center Fota Porta Gdynia (Poland) 12.9 7.6 1.8 [3]
1999 Washington Mystics Chamique Holdsclaw+ USA Forward Tennessee 16.9 7.9 2.4 [4]
2000 Cleveland Rockers Ann Wauters+ BEL Center USV Olympic (France) 6.2 4.0 1.2 [5]
2001 Seattle Storm Lauren Jackson* AUS Forward-Center Canberra Capitals (Australia) 15.2 6.7 1.5 [6]
2002 Seattle Storm Sue Bird* USA Guard Connecticut 14.4 2.6 6.0 [7]
2003 Cleveland Rockers LaToya Thomas USA Forward Mississippi State 10.8 5.1 1.2 [8]
2004 Phoenix Mercury Diana Taurasi* USA Forward Connecticut 17.0 4.4 3.9 [9]
2005 Charlotte Sting Janel McCarville USA Center Minnesota 1.8 2.7 0.4 [10]
2006 Minnesota Lynx Seimone Augustus* USA Forward LSU 21.9 3.8 1.5 [11]
2007 Phoenix Mercury Lindsey Harding USA Guard Duke 11.7 4.4 3.9 [12]
2008 Los Angeles Sparks Candace Parker*[c] USA Forward Tennessee 18.5 9.5 3.4 [13]
2009 Atlanta Dream Angel McCoughtry* USA Forward Louisville 12.8 3.1 2.1 [14]
2010 Connecticut Sun Tina Charles* USA Center Connecticut 15.5 11.7 1.5 [15]
2011 Minnesota Lynx Maya Moore* USA Forward Connecticut 13.2 4.6 2.6 [16]
2012 Los Angeles Sparks Nneka Ogwumike* USA Forward Stanford 14.0 7.5 1.2 [17]
2013 Phoenix Mercury Brittney Griner* USA Center Baylor 12.6 6.3 1.0 [18]
2014 Connecticut Sun Chiney Ogwumike+ USA Forward Stanford 15.5 8.5 0.6 [19]
2015 Seattle Storm Jewell Loyd+ USA Guard Notre Dame 10.7 3.5 1.9 [20]
2016 Seattle Storm Breanna Stewart* USA Forward Connecticut 18.3 9.3 3.4 [21]
2017 San Antonio Stars Kelsey Plum USA Guard Washington 8.5 1.9 3.4 [22]
2018 Las Vegas Aces A'ja Wilson+ USA Forward South Carolina 20.7 8.0 2.2 [23]
2019 Las Vegas Aces Jackie Young USA Guard Notre Dame 6.6 3.3 4.5 [24]
2020 New York Liberty Sabrina Ionescu USA Guard Oregon 18.3 4.7 4.0 [25]
2021 Dallas Wings (from New York via Seattle) TBA TBD TBD TBD

See also

  • List of first overall NBA draft picks
  • List of first overall NBA G League draft picks

Notes

  1. ^ a b c All statistics are taken from the players' respective rookie season unless otherwise noted.
  2. ^ The elite draft portion comprised professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues.
  3. ^ Candace Parker also won the WNBA MVP award during her rookie year.

References

  1. ^ "Dena Head WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  2. ^ "Tina Thompson WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  3. ^ "Margo Dydek WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  4. ^ "Chamique Holdsclaw WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  5. ^ "Ann Wauters WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  6. ^ "Lauren Jackson WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  7. ^ "Sue Bird WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  8. ^ "LaToya Thomas WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  9. ^ "LaToya Thomas WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  10. ^ "Janel McCarville WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  11. ^ "Seimone Augustus WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  12. ^ "Lindsey Harding WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  13. ^ "Candace Parker WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  14. ^ "Angel McCoughtry WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  15. ^ "Tina Charles WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  16. ^ "Maya Moore WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  17. ^ "Nneka Ogwumike WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  18. ^ "Brittney Griner WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  19. ^ "Chiney Ogwumike WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  20. ^ "Jewell Loyd WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  21. ^ "Breanna Stewart WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  22. ^ "Record-setting guard Kelsey Plum goes to San Antonio Stars with top pick". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  23. ^ "A'ja Wilson WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  24. ^ "Jackie Young WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  25. ^ "Sabrina Ionescu WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
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