2007 WNBA draft
The 2007 WNBA draft was the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. A lottery was held on October 26, 2006, among the teams with the worst records in the previous season to determine the order of the top six picks in the first round of the draft. As in the NBA draft, the teams' chances were weighted so that the team with the worst record, in this case the Chicago Sky, had the best chance of receiving the top pick. The lottery was used to determine only the top two picks, with picks 3 through 6 going to the other lottery teams in inverse order of record. The Phoenix Mercury, despite having the best record of the six teams involved and thus the worst mathematical chance of winning, drew the top pick. It was the first time since the institution of the lottery for the 2002 Draft that the top pick was earned by the team with the worst mathematical chance of winning. Also for the first time, the team with the second-worst odds of earning the top pick, in this case the San Antonio Silver Stars, received the second pick. The remaining first-round picks, plus all picks in the second and third rounds, are allocated in inverse order of regular-season record, without regard to playoff results (as in the NBA Draft). The main draft was held on April 4, 2007, inside the Renaissance Hotel on Cleveland's Public Square, the day after the 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament ended. This draft marked the first WNBA draft ever held outside of New Jersey. Additionally, on January 8, 2007, the WNBA held a dispersal draft to re-assign players from the Charlotte Sting who folded at the end of 2006 WNBA season.
| 2007 WNBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | April 4, 2007 |
| Location | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Networks | ESPN2, NBATV, ESPNU |
| Overview | |
| League | WNBA |
| Merging teams | Charlotte Sting (folded in 2006) |
| First selection | Lindsey Harding Minnesota Lynx |
The 2007 WNBA draft was the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league.
A lottery was held on October 26, 2006, among the teams with the worst records in the previous season to determine the order of the top six picks in the first round of the draft. As in the NBA draft, the teams' chances were weighted so that the team with the worst record, in this case the Chicago Sky, had the best chance of receiving the top pick. The lottery was used to determine only the top two picks, with picks 3 through 6 going to the other lottery teams in inverse order of record. The Phoenix Mercury, despite having the best record of the six teams involved and thus the worst mathematical chance of winning, drew the top pick. It was the first time since the institution of the lottery for the 2002 Draft that the top pick was earned by the team with the worst mathematical chance of winning. Also for the first time, the team with the second-worst odds of earning the top pick, in this case the San Antonio Silver Stars, received the second pick.[1] The remaining first-round picks, plus all picks in the second and third rounds, are allocated in inverse order of regular-season record, without regard to playoff results (as in the NBA Draft).
The main draft was held on April 4, 2007, inside the Renaissance Hotel on Cleveland's Public Square, the day after the 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament ended.[2] This draft marked the first WNBA draft ever held outside of New Jersey.
Additionally, on January 8, 2007, the WNBA held a dispersal draft to re-assign players from the Charlotte Sting who folded at the end of 2006 WNBA season.[3]
Key
[edit]| ! | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame |
| + | 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 |
Draft
[edit]Round 1
[edit]| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lindsey Harding (traded to Minnesota) |  United States
|
Phoenix Mercury | Duke |
| 2 | Jessica Davenport (traded to New York) | San Antonio Silver Stars | Ohio State | |
| 3 | Armintie Price | Chicago Sky | Ole Miss | |
| 4 | Noelle Quinn | Minnesota Lynx | UCLA | |
| 5 | Tiffany Jackson | New York Liberty | Texas | |
| 6 | Bernice Mosby | Washington Mystics | Baylor | |
| 7 | Katie Gearlds | Seattle Storm | Purdue | |
| 8 | Ashley Shields | Houston Comets | Southwest Tennessee CC | |
| 9 | Alison Bales | Indiana Fever | Duke | |
| 10 | Carla Thomas | Chicago Sky (from Sacramento) | Vanderbilt | |
| 11 | Ivory Latta + | Detroit Shock | North Carolina | |
| 12 | Kamesha Hairston | Connecticut Sun (from Los Angeles) | Temple | |
| 13 | Sandrine Gruda |  France
|
Connecticut Sun | Valenciennes (France) |
Round 2
[edit]| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Dee Davis | United States
|
Houston Comets (from Chicago) | Vanderbilt |
| 15 | Shay Murphy | Minnesota Lynx | USC | |
| 16 | Shay Doron |  Israel
|
New York Liberty | Maryland |
| 17 | Camille Little | United States
|
San Antonio Silver Stars | North Carolina |
| 18 | Tyresa Smith | Phoenix Mercury | Delaware | |
| 19 | Megan Vogel # | Washington Mystics | South Dakota State | |
| 20 | Stephanie Raymond | Chicago Sky (from Seattle) | Northern Illinois | |
| 21 | Jessica Dickson # | Chicago Sky (from Houston) | South Florida | |
| 22 | Lyndsey Medders # | Indiana Fever | Iowa State | |
| 23 | Brooke Smith | Sacramento Monarchs | Stanford | |
| 24 | Kathrin Ress |  Italy
|
Minnesota Lynx (from Detroit) | Boston College |
| 25 | Sidney Spencer | United States
|
Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee |
| 26 | Cori Chambers | Connecticut Sun | Georgia |
Round 3
[edit]| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Jenna Rubino # | United States
|
Chicago Sky | DePaul |
| 28 | Leah Rush | Phoenix Mercury (from Minnesota) | Oklahoma | |
| 29 | Martina Weber |  Germany
|
New York Liberty | Iona |
| 30 | Nare Diawara # |  Mali
|
San Antonio Silver Stars | Virginia Tech |
| 31 | Chrissy Givens | United States
|
Phoenix Mercury | Middle Tennessee |
| 32 | Gillian Goring |  Trinidad and Tobago
|
Washington Mystics | North Carolina State |
| 33 | Brandie Hoskins # | United States
|
Seattle Storm | Ohio State |
| 34 | Kristen Newlin # | Houston Comets | Stanford | |
| 35 | Ashley Key # | Indiana Fever | North Carolina State | |
| 36 | Meg Bulger # | Sacramento Monarchs | West Virginia | |
| 37 | Emily Westerberg # | Phoenix Mercury (from Detroit) | Arizona State | |
| 38 | Amanda Brown # |  Canada
|
Los Angeles Sparks | Penn State |
| 39 | Kiera Hardy # | United States
|
Connecticut Sun | Nebraska |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- General
- "All-Time WNBA draft history". WNBA. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
- Specific
- ^ "Phoenix Mercury Win Top Pick in 2007 WNBA Draft". WNBA. October 26, 2006. Archived from the original on January 28, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2007.
- ^ "2007 WNBA Draft to Cap Weeklong Celebration of Women's Basketball in Cleveland". WNBA. February 7, 2007. Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
- ^ "2007 Charlotte Sting Dispersal Draft Analysis". WNBA. Retrieved May 25, 2025.