2008 WNBA draft
The WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which Women's National Basketball Association teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The 2008 draft was held on April 9. A lottery was held on October 23, 2007. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first overall selection of the upcoming 2008 draft. The Chicago Sky received the number two selection. The Minnesota Lynx came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Atlanta Dream expansion franchise at four, the Houston Comets at number five, and the Washington Mystics at number six. Some of the top draftees were Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Candice Wiggins, Crystal Langhorne, and Tasha Humphrey. Top pick Candace Parker went on to become the first WNBA player to be the league's Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Fourth pick Alexis Hornbuckle became the first person to win a national championship in college (with the University of Tennessee) and a WNBA title (with the Detroit Shock) in the same calendar year. A separate expansion draft for the Atlanta Dream took place on February 6, 2008.
| 2008 WNBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | April 9, 2008 |
| Location | Tampa, Florida |
| Networks | ESPN2, NBATV, ESPNU |
| Overview | |
| League | WNBA |
| Expansion teams | Atlanta Dream |
| First selection | Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks |
The WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which Women's National Basketball Association teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The 2008 draft was held on April 9.
A lottery was held on October 23, 2007. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first overall selection of the upcoming 2008 draft. The Chicago Sky received the number two selection. The Minnesota Lynx came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Atlanta Dream expansion franchise at four, the Houston Comets at number five, and the Washington Mystics at number six. Some of the top draftees were Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Candice Wiggins, Crystal Langhorne, and Tasha Humphrey.
Top pick Candace Parker went on to become the first WNBA player to be the league's Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Fourth pick Alexis Hornbuckle became the first person to win a national championship in college (with the University of Tennessee) and a WNBA title (with the Detroit Shock) in the same calendar year.
A separate expansion draft for the Atlanta Dream took place on February 6, 2008.[1]
Transactions
[edit]- The Detroit Shock held the eleventh pick in round one as part of the Katie Feenstra/Ruth Riley trade in February 2007.
- The San Antonio Silver Stars held the twenty-first pick as part of 2007 WNBA draft trade with the New York Liberty that involved Becky Hammon.
- On February 6, 2008, the Atlanta Dream traded the number four pick to the Seattle Storm along with Roneeka Hodges for the eighth pick and Iziane Castro Marques.
- On February 6, 2008, the Atlanta Dream traded the eighteenth pick and LaToya Thomas to the Detroit Shock for Ivory Latta.
- On February 19, 2008, the Seattle Storm traded the fourth pick to the Detroit Shock for Swin Cash.
- On February 19, 2008, the Connecticut Sun acquired the Indiana Fever's twelfth overall pick in a Tamika Whitmore/Katie Douglas trade.
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 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 |
Draft
[edit]Round 1
[edit]| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Candace Parker * |  United States
|
Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee |
| 2 | Sylvia Fowles * ^ ! | Chicago Sky | LSU | |
| 3 | Candice Wiggins | Minnesota Lynx | Stanford | |
| 4 | Alexis Hornbuckle | Detroit Shock (from Atlanta, via Seattle)[a][b] | Tennessee | |
| 5 | Matee Ajavon | Houston Comets | Rutgers | |
| 6 | Crystal Langhorne * | Washington Mystics | Maryland | |
| 7 | Essence Carson + | New York Liberty | Rutgers | |
| 8 | Tamera Young | Atlanta Dream (from Seattle)[a] | James Madison | |
| 9 | Amber Holt | Connecticut Sun | Middle Tennessee | |
| 10 | Laura Harper | Sacramento Monarchs | Maryland | |
| 11 | Tasha Humphrey | Detroit Shock (from San Antonio) | Georgia | |
| 12 | Ketia Swanier | Connecticut Sun (from Indiana) | Connecticut | |
| 13 | LaToya Pringle | Phoenix Mercury | North Carolina | |
| 14 | Erlana Larkins | New York Liberty (from Detroit) |
Round 2
[edit]| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Shannon Bobbitt | United States
|
Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee |
| 16 | Nicky Anosike + | Minnesota Lynx | ||
| 17 | Erica White | Houston Comets | LSU | |
| 18 | Olayinka Sanni |  Nigeria
|
Detroit Shock (from Atlanta)[c] | West Virginia |
| 19 | Quianna Chaney | United States
|
Chicago Sky | LSU |
| 20 | Lindsey Pluimer # | Washington Mystics | UCLA | |
| 21 | Chioma Nnamaka |  Sweden
|
San Antonio Silver Stars (from New York) | Georgia Tech |
| 22 | Allie Quigley + | United States
|
Seattle Storm | DePaul |
| 23 | Jolene Anderson | Connecticut Sun | Wisconsin | |
| 24 | Morenike Atunrase | Atlanta Dream (from Indiana)[d] | Texas A&M | |
| 25 | Leilani Mitchell |  Australia
|
Phoenix Mercury (from San Antonio) | Utah |
| 26 | Khadijah Whittington | United States
|
Indiana Fever | North Carolina State |
| 27 | Wanisha Smith | New York Liberty (from Phoenix) | Duke | |
| 28 | Natasha Lacy | Detroit Shock | UTEP |
Round 3
[edit]| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Sharnee Zoll | United States
|
Los Angeles Sparks | Virginia |
| 30 | Charde Houston + | Minnesota Lynx | Connecticut | |
| 31 | Crystal Kelly | Houston Comets | Western Kentucky | |
| 32 | Danielle Hood # | Atlanta Dream | Hartford | |
| 33 | Angela Tisdale # | Chicago Sky | Baylor | |
| 34 | Krystal Vaughn | Washington Mystics | VCU | |
| 35 | Alberta Auguste # | New York Liberty | Tennessee | |
| 36 | Kimberly Beck | Seattle Storm | George Washington | |
| 37 | Lauren Ervin | Connecticut Sun | Arkansas | |
| 38 | A'Quonesia Franklin | Sacramento Monarchs | Texas A&M | |
| 39 | Alex Anderson # | San Antonio Silver Stars | Chattanooga | |
| 40 | Izabela Piekarska # |  Poland
|
Sacramento Monarchs (from Indiana) | UTEP |
| 41 | Marscilla Packer # | United States
|
Phoenix Mercury | Ohio State |
| 42 | Valeriya Berezhynska |  Ukraine
|
Detroit Shock | Rice |
| 43 | Charel Allen | United States
|
Sacramento Monarchs | Notre Dame |
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ a b February 6, 2008: Atlanta to Seattle[2]
- Atlanta acquired Iziane Castro Marques and the 2008 No. 8 draft pick
- Seattle acquired Roneeka Hodges and the 2008 No. 4 draft pick
- ^ February 19, 2008: Seattle to Detroit[3]
- Seattle acquired Swin Cash
- Detroit acquired the 2008 No. 4 draft pick
- ^ February 6, 2008: Atlanta to Detroit[2]
- Atlanta acquired Ivory Latta
- Seattle acquired LaToya Thomas and the 2008 No. 18 draft pick
- ^ February 6, 2008: Indiana to Atlanta[2]
- Indiana acquired agreement from Atlanta to not select specific unprotected Fever players in the expansion draft
- Atlanta acquired the 2008 No. 24 draft pick
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Atlanta Dream Build Inaugural Roster With 13 Picks In 2008 Expansion Draft". WNBA. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Atlanta Dream adds Lennox in WNBA expansion draft, trades for Latta, Castro Marques". ESPN. February 6, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ "Storm acquires Swin Cash from Detroit Shock". The Seattle Times. February 19, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- "All-Time WNBA draft history". WNBA. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.