Sports
WNBA draft 2023: How to watch, first round draft order, more – The Rookie Wire
The 2023 WNBA draft will be held on Monday, April 10. It will be exclusively televised on ESPN from 7-9 p.m. EST and available on the ESPN app.
According to the WNBA’s website, fans have multiple ways to get involved with the draft and follow along:
Launching in March, Draft Central on wnba.com will enable fans to access multiple offerings in the days leading up to the draft. Elements will include an interactive draft board; prospect profiles with insights powered by SAP; in-depth features on the top draft prospects; coverage of all draft events; and more.
Fans will also be able to access an array of content across WNBA channels that will include the unique stories and personalities of the prospects via Instagram and TikTok; a Twitter Spaces mock draft debate; cross platform live coverage including the Orange Carpet and more.
The draft consists of three rounds and 36 picks. The WNBA only has 144 roster spots, so the higher a player is picked the larger likelihood they will make a roster. Only a small percentage of players drafted make a WNBA roster.
The league is looking to expand in the next few years, but has no concrete plans for expanded rosters. Leagues such as Athletes Unlimited provide 44 more roster spots for elite basketball players to play domestically, but many opine it is still not enough to harness the sheer talent of women’s basketball players in the United States.
However, the top picks of the draft are almost guaranteed a spot. The last 10 No. 1 overall draft picks were:
2013: Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
2014: Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut Sun
2015: Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm
2016: Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
2017: Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces (formerly San Antonio Stars)
2018: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
2019: Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
2020: Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
2021: Charli Collier, Dallas Wings
2022: Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
The WNBA held its 22nd annual draft lottery on Nov. 11 to determine the order. The Indiana Fever received the first pick. The Minnesota Lynx have the second pick. The Atlanta Dream are third and the Washington Mystics (via Los Angeles Sparks) have the fourth pick.
The full lineup of picks for the first round is below:
This year’s draft class is exceptionally talented with South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston leading the way. She is projected to go No. 1 in the draft and when you look at her 2022 accomplishments, not to mention her whole career, it is hard to disagree.
🏆 SEC POY
🏆 SEC Defensive POY
🏆 Naismith POY
🏆 Naismith Defensive POY
🏆 Wade Trophy winner
🏆 USBWA POY
🏆 AP POY
🏆 Lisa Leslie Award winner
🏆 National Champion
🏆 Final Four MOP
🏆 Wooden Award winner
A special year for a special player 👏 @aa_boston pic.twitter.com/ayfDZUIWlw
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 4, 2022
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