The 2018 WNBA draft was the league's draft for the 2018 WNBA season. On March 12, the league announced the draft would be held on April 12 at Nike New York Headquarters, a recently opened secondary headquarters for the athletic apparel giant located in Midtown Manhattan.
Draft lottery The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2018 Draft was set to take place on September 14, 2017, but was delayed by the league to November 13.
Lottery chances The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2018 draft occurred on November 13, 2017. The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2016 and 2017 WNBA seasons. The San Antonio Stars, with the worst two-year record, were guaranteed no worse than the third pick. With the Stars relocating to Las Vegas, Las Vegas retained these best odds. All odds out of 1,000 based on percentages (the 11–12–13–14 combination was ignored).
Note: Team selected for the No. 1 pick noted in bold text. Team Combined 2016–17 record Lottery chances Result Las Vegas Aces 15–53 44.2% 1st pick Indiana Fever 26–42 22.7% 2nd pick Chicago Sky 29–39 17.8% 3rd pick Chicago Sky 30–38 10.4% 4th pick
This is the fifth time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds and second consecutive number 1 pick for Las Vegas.
Notable prospects On November 7, 2017, the WNBA announced the following notable prospects for the 2018 draft:
A'ja Wilson - South Carolina Kelsey Mitchell - Ohio State Gabby Williams - Connecticut Kia Nurse - Connecticut Jordin Canada - UCLA Victoria Vivians - Mississippi State Myisha Hines-Allen - Louisville Katelynn Flaherty - Michigan
Draft invitees On April 6, 2018, the WNBA released the names of the players invited to be in attendance at the draft.South Carolina’s Wilson Headlines List of Top College Prospects to Attend WNBA Draft 2018 Presented by State Farm
Monique Billings, UCLA Lexie Brown, Duke Jordin Canada, UCLA Diamond DeShields, Çukurova (Turkey) Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State Kia Nurse, UConn Azurá Stevens, UConn Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State Gabby Williams, UConn A'ja Wilson, South Carolina
Key
Draft
Round 1 PickPlayerNationalityTeamSchool / club team1A'ja Wilson * Las Vegas Aces South Carolina2 Kelsey Mitchell * Indiana Fever Ohio State3Diamond DeShields * Chicago Sky Tennessee / Çukurova 4 Gabby Williams + France Chicago Sky UConn5 Jordin Canada Seattle Storm UCLA6 Azurá Stevens Dallas Wings UConn7 Ariel Atkins + Washington Mystics Texas8 Victoria Vivians Indiana Fever Mississippi State9 Lexie Brown Connecticut Sun Duke10 Kia Nurse + New York Liberty UConn11 Maria Vadeeva Los Angeles Sparks Dynamo Kursk 12 Marie Gülich Phoenix Mercury Oregon State
Round 2 PickPlayerNationalityTeamSchool / club team 13 Jaime Nared Las Vegas Aces Tennessee14 Stephanie Mavunga Indiana Fever Ohio State15 Monique Billings Atlanta Dream UCLA16 Kristy Wallace Atlanta Dream Baylor17 Park Ji-su Minnesota Lynx Cheongju KB Stars 18 Loryn Goodwin # Dallas Wings Oklahoma State19 Myisha Hines-Allen x Washington Mystics Louisville20 Tyler Scaife # Phoenix Mercury Rutgers21 Raisa Musina # Phoenix Mercury UMMC Ekaterinburg 22 Mercedes Russell New York Liberty Tennessee23 Shakayla Thomas # Los Angeles Sparks Florida State24 Kahlia Lawrence # Minnesota Lynx Mercer
Round 3 PickPlayerNationalityTeamSchool / club team25 Raigyne Louis Las Vegas Aces LSU26 Imani Wright Phoenix Mercury Florida State27 Mackenzie Engram # Atlanta Dream Georgia28 Amarah Coleman # Chicago Sky DePaul29 Teana Muldrow Seattle Storm West Virginia30 Natalie Butler# Dallas Wings George Mason31 Rebecca Greenwell # Washington Mystics Duke32 Jill Barta # Las Vegas Aces Gonzaga33 # Connecticut Sun California34 Leslie Robinson # New York Liberty Princeton35 # Los Angeles Sparks Femeni Sant Adrià 36 Carlie Wagner # Minnesota Lynx Minnesota
Viewership The draft was telecast on ESPN2 (1st round) and ESPNU (2nd and 3rd rounds). The draft had an average audience of 212,000, which was an increase of 25% compared to the 2017 WNBA draft. The first round experienced an increase of 13% compared to 2017, with an average audience of 308,000. The 2nd and 3rd rounds saw a 49% increase in average viewers compared to 2017 (110,000 vs. 74,000). The 2018 draft was the most watched draft since 2014.
Footnotes
See also List of first overall WNBA draft picks
References