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1997 WNBA draft | |
---|---|
General information | |
Sport | Basketball |
Date(s) | April 28, 1997 |
Overview | |
League | WNBA |
First selection | Tina Thompson Houston Comets |
The 1997 WNBA draft was the 1st draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three different stages in which teams built their rosters.
First on January 22, 1997, the Initial Player Allocation draft took place in which 16 players were assigned to each team in no particular order.
The elite draft portion comprised professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. On February 27, 1997, an elite draft added two more players to each team.
On April 28, 1997, the four rounds of the regular WNBA draft took place.
Draftees Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson would become the core pieces of the Houston Comets dynasty.
Racquel Spurlock (3rd Round, 17th overall pick) is the only player selected in this draft that ended up never playing a game in the WNBA.
Initial player allocation
Note: 16 players assigned in no particular order.
Elite draft
The elite draft portion was composed of professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. It was the first time where the teams could draft the players out of a talent pool.
Round 1
Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dena Head | G | United States | Utah Starzz | Tennessee |
2 | Isabelle Fijalkowski | C/F | France | Cleveland Rockers | Colorado |
3 | Rhonda Mapp | C/F | United States | Charlotte Sting | NC State |
4 | Kym Hampton ^ | C/F | United States | New York Liberty | Arizona State |
5 | Wanda Guyton | F | United States | Houston Comets | South Florida |
6 | Judy Mosley-McAfee | F | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | Hawaii |
7 | Bridget Pettis | F | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Florida |
8 | Daedra Charles | C | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee |
Round 2
Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | Wendy Palmer * | F | United States | Utah Starzz | Virginia |
10 | Lynette Woodard | G | United States | Cleveland Rockers | Kansas |
11 | Michi Atkins | F | United States | Charlotte Sting | Texas Tech |
12 | Vickie Johnson ^ | F | United States | New York Liberty | Louisiana Tech |
13 | Janeth Arcain * | F | Brazil | Houston Comets | Polti (Brazil) |
14 | Mikiko Hagiwara | G | Japan | Sacramento Monarchs | Japan Energy Griffins (Japan) |
15 | Nancy Lieberman-Cline | G | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Old Dominion |
16 | Zheng Haixia | C | China | Los Angeles Sparks | China |
College draft
Round 1
Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tina Thompson * | F | United States | Houston Comets | USC |
2 | Pamela McGee | C | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | USC |
3 | Jamila Wideman | G | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Stanford |
4 | Eva Nemcova | G | Czechoslovakia | Cleveland Rockers | Bourges (France) |
5 | Tammi Reiss | G | United States | Utah Starzz | Virginia |
6 | Sue Wicks ^ | F | United States | New York Liberty | Rutgers |
7 | Tora Suber | G | United States | Charlotte Sting | Virginia |
8 | Toni Foster | F/C | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Iowa |