2008 WNBA draft
| 2008 WNBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | April 9, 2008 |
| Location | Tampa, Florida |
| Network(s) | ESPN2, NBATV, ESPNU |
| Overview | |
| League | WNBA |
| 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.
Transactions
The Detroit Shock holds the eleventh pick in round one as part of the Katie Feenstra/Ruth Riley trade back in February 2007.
The San Antonio Silver Stars holds 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 the Tamika Whitmore/Katie Douglas trade.
Key
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| Bold | Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year |
Expansion draft
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New team | Former team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carla Thomas | United States | Atlanta Dream | Chicago Sky |
| 2 | Érika de Souza + | Brazil | Atlanta Dream | Connecticut Sun |
| 3 | Katie Feenstra | United States | Atlanta Dream | Detroit Shock |
| 4 | Roneeka Hodges | United States | Atlanta Dream | Houston Comets |
| 5 | Ann Strother | United States | Atlanta Dream | Indiana Fever |
| 6 | LaToya Thomas | United States | Atlanta Dream | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 7 | Kristen Mann | United States | Atlanta Dream | Minnesota Lynx |
| 8 | Ann Wauters | Belgium | Atlanta Dream | New York Liberty |
| 9 | Jennifer Lacy | United States | Atlanta Dream | Phoenix Mercury |
| 10 | Kristin Haynie | United States | Atlanta Dream | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 11 | Chantelle Anderson | United States | Atlanta Dream | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| 12 | Betty Lennox | United States | Atlanta Dream | Seattle Storm |
| 13 | Yelena Leuchanka | Belarus | Atlanta Dream | Washington Mystics |
College Draft
Round 1
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Candace Parker * | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee |
| 2 | Sylvia Fowles * | United States | Chicago Sky | LSU |
| 3 | Candice Wiggins | United States | Minnesota Lynx | Stanford |
| 4 | Alexis Hornbuckle | United States | Detroit Shock (from Atl., via Sea.) | Tennessee |
| 5 | Matee Ajavon | United States | Houston Comets | Rutgers |
| 6 | Crystal Langhorne * | United States | Washington Mystics | Maryland |
| 7 | Essence Carson + | United States | New York Liberty | Rutgers |
| 8 | Tamera Young | United States | Atlanta Dream (from Sea.) | James Madison |
| 9 | Amber Holt | United States | Connecticut Sun | Middle Tennessee |
| 10 | Laura Harper | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | Maryland |
| 11 | Tasha Humphrey | United States | Detroit Shock (from S.A.) | Georgia |
| 12 | Ketia Swanier | United States | Connecticut Sun (from Ind.) | Connecticut |
| 13 | LaToya Pringle | United States | Phoenix Mercury | North Carolina |
| 14 | Erlana Larkins | United States | New York Liberty (from Det.) | North Carolina |
Round 2
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Shannon Bobbitt | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee |
| 16 | Nicky Anosike + | United States | Minnesota Lynx | Tennessee |
| 17 | Erica White | United States | Houston Comets | LSU |
| 18 | Olayinka Sanni | Nigeria | Detroit Shock (from Atl.) | West Virginia |
| 19 | Quianna Chaney | United States | Chicago Sky | LSU |
| 20 | Lindsey Pluimer | United States | Washington Mystics | UCLA |
| 21 | Chioma Nnamaka | Sweden | San Antonio Silver Stars (from N.Y.) | Georgia Tech |
| 22 | Allie Quigley + | United States | Seattle Storm | DePaul |
| 23 | Jolene Anderson | United States | Connecticut Sun | Wisconsin |
| 24 | Morenike Atunrase | United States | Atlanta Dream (from Ind.) | Texas A&M |
| 25 | Leilani Mitchell |
United States Australia |
Phoenix Mercury (from S.A.) | Utah |
| 26 | Khadijah Whittington | United States | Indiana Fever | North Carolina State |
| 27 | Wanisha Smith | United States | New York Liberty (from Phx.) | Duke |
| 28 | Natasha Lacy | United States | Detroit Shock | UTEP |
Round 3
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Sharnee Zoll | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Virginia |
| 30 | Charde Houston + | United States | Minnesota Lynx | Connecticut |
| 31 | Crystal Kelly | United States | Houston Comets | Western Kentucky |
| 32 | Danielle Hood | United States | Atlanta Dream | Hartford |
| 33 | Angela Tisdale | United States | Chicago Sky | Baylor |
| 34 | Krystal Vaughn | United States | Washington Mystics | VCU |
| 35 | Alberta Auguste | United States | New York Liberty | Tennessee |
| 36 | Kimberly Beck | United States | Seattle Storm | George Washington |
| 37 | Lauren Ervin | United States | Connecticut Sun | Arkansas |
| 38 | A'Quonesia Franklin | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | Texas A&M |
| 39 | Alex Anderson | United States | San Antonio Silver Stars | Chattanooga |
| 40 | Izabela Piekarska | Poland | Sacramento Monarchs (from Ind.) | 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 |