The 2016 WNBA draft is the league's draft for the 2016 WNBA season. It was held on April 14 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The draft was most notable for Connecticut producing the top three picks, with #1 pick Breanna Stewart followed by Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. This is the first time in history that the top three draft picks came from the same school.
Draft lottery The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2016 draft occurred on September 24, 2015. For the first year, team's lottery chances were based on combined records from the 2014 and 2015 WNBA seasons.
Lottery chances The 2016 lottery was held on September 24, 2015.
The Seattle Storm won the lottery for the second straight year. This was the third time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds. Seattle Storm held the worst two-year record and was guaranteed at least the third pick for the 2015 draft.
Note: Team selected for the No. 1 pick noted in bold text. Team Combined 2014–15 record Lottery chances Result Seattle Storm 22–46 44.2% 1st pick San Antonio Stars 24–44 27.6% 2nd pick Connecticut Sun 28–40 17.8% 3rd pick Atlanta Dream 34–34 10.4% 4th pick
Notable prospects On September 24, 2015, WNBA.com posted notable prospects for the draft. The list included:Notable Prospects in the 2016 WNBA Draft
Moriah Jefferson - UConn Tiffany Mitchell - South Carolina Breanna Stewart - UConn Jillian Alleyne - Oregon Jonquel Jones - George Washington Morgan Tuck - UConn Courtney Williams - South Florida
Draft invitees The WNBA also selected twelve players to be in attendance at the draft. Those twelve were:
Rachel Banham, Minnesota Imani Boyette, Texas Kahleah Copper, Rutgers Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut Jonquel Jones, George Washington Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina Aerial Powers, Michigan State Breanna Stewart, Connecticut Morgan Tuck, Connecticut Courtney Walker, Texas A&M Talia Walton, Washington Courtney Williams, South Florida
Key
Draft
Round 1 PickPlayerNationalityTeamSchool / club team1Breanna Stewart * Seattle Storm Connecticut2 Moriah Jefferson San Antonio Stars3 Morgan Tuck Connecticut Sun4 Rachel Banham Connecticut Sun Minnesota5 Aerial Powers Dallas Wings Michigan State6 Jonquel Jones * Los Angeles Sparks George Washington7Kahleah Copper * Washington Mystics Rutgers8Courtney Williams + Phoenix Mercury South Florida9 Indiana Fever South Carolina10 Imani Boyette Chicago Sky Texas11 Bria Holmes Atlanta Dream West Virginia12 Adut Bulgak New York Liberty Florida State
Round 2 PickPlayerNationalityTeamSchool / club team13 Rachel Hollivay Atlanta Dream Rutgers14 Jazmon Gwathmey / Minnesota Lynx James Madison15 Whitney Knight Los Angeles Sparks Florida Gulf Coast16 Courtney Walker # Atlanta Dream Texas A&M17 Jamie Weisner Connecticut Sun Oregon State18 Ruth Hamblin Dallas Wings19 Lia Galdeira # Washington Mystics Washington State20 Jillian Alleyne Phoenix Mercury Oregon21 Brene Moseley Indiana Fever Maryland22 Bashaara Graves Minnesota Lynx Tennessee23 Brianna Butler # Los Angeles Sparks Syracuse24 Ameryst Alston New York Liberty Ohio State
Round 3 PickPlayerNationalityTeamSchool / club team 25 Brittney Martin # San Antonio Stars Oklahoma State 26 Lexi Eaton Rydalch # Seattle Storm BYU 27 Aliyyah Handford # Connecticut Sun St. John's 28 Niya Johnson # Atlanta Dream Baylor 29 Talia Walton # Los Angeles Sparks Washington 30 Shakena Richardson # Dallas Wings Seton Hall 31 Danaejah Grant # Washington Mystics St. John's 32 Nirra Fields Phoenix Mercury UCLA 33 Julie Allemand Indiana Fever Castors Braine 34 Jordan Jones # Chicago Sky Texas A&M 35 Temi Fagbenle Minnesota Lynx USC 36 Shacobia Barbee # New York Liberty Georgia
Footnotes
See also List of first overall WNBA draft picks
References