1997 WNBA draft
| 1997 WNBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | 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. Michi Atkins (2nd Round, 11th overall pick) is the only player selected in the elite draft that never played a game in the WNBA.
On April 28, 1997, the four rounds of the regular WNBA draft took place. Racquel Spurlock (3rd Round, 17th overall pick) is the only player selected in the college draft that never played a game in the WNBA.
Draftees Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson would become the core pieces of the Houston Comets dynasty.
Initial player allocation
[edit | edit source]| ! | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial 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 |
| x | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-WNBA Team |
| # | Denotes player who never played in the WNBA regular season or playoffs |
| Bold | Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year |
Note: 16 players assigned in no particular order.
- ^ Lobo has also been inducted to the Naismith Hall, but as a contributor instead of player.
Elite draft
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]Round 2
[edit | edit source]| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Wendy Palmer * | F | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | Utah Starzz | Virginia |
| 10 | Lynette Woodard ^ ! | G | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | Cleveland Rockers | Kansas |
| 11 | Michi Atkins | F | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | Charlotte Sting | Texas Tech |
| 12 | Vickie Johnson + | F | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | New York Liberty | Louisiana Tech |
| 13 | Janeth Arcain * ^ | F | File:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil | Houston Comets | Polti (Brazil) |
| 14 | Mikiko Hagiwara | G | File:Flag of Japan.svg Japan | Sacramento Monarchs | Japan Energy Griffins (Japan) |
| 15 | Nancy Lieberman ^ ! | G | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | Phoenix Mercury | Old Dominion |
| 16 | Zheng Haixia | C |  China
|
Los Angeles Sparks | China |
College draft
[edit | edit source]Round 1
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Round 2
[edit | edit source]Round 3
[edit | edit source]Round 4
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Notable undrafted players
[edit | edit source]These players were not selected in the 1997 WNBA draft but played at least one game for the WNBA.
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See also
[edit | edit source]References
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