2022 WNBA draft

The 2022 WNBA Draft, the WNBA's draft for the 2022 WNBA season, was held on April 11, 2022 in New York City and aired live on ESPN in the United States and on TSN1/4 in Canada at 7:00 p.m. EDT.[1] The draft was the 27th in WNBA history.

2022 WNBA Draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)April 11, 2022
LocationNew York City
Network(s)United States: ESPN
Canada: TSN1/4
Overview
LeagueWNBA
Teams12
First selectionRhyne Howard
Atlanta Dream

Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2022 draft took place on December 19, 2021 and was televised on ESPN in the United States and on TSN2 in Canada.[2] The four non-playoff teams in 2021 qualified for the lottery drawing: Atlanta Dream, Indiana Fever, Washington Mystics, and the Los Angeles Sparks. With the Sparks having previously traded their 2022 first-round pick, their lottery pick belonged to the Dallas Wings at the time of the lottery. The Mystics won the lottery and had the first pick in the draft. This was the first time that the Mystics won the lottery in franchise history. The next three picks initially belonged to the Fever, Dream, and Wings.[3] However, by the time of the draft, the only one of the top four picks that still belonged to the same team was that of the Fever. In March 2022, the Wings included their lottery pick in a larger trade with the Fever. Less than a week before the draft, the Mystics and Dream would swap their top-three picks, with the Mystics also sending the Dream a 2022 second-round pick and the rights to swap picks with the Sparks in 2023.

Lottery chances
Team Combined 2020–2021 record Lottery chances (out of 1,000)
Indiana Fever 12–42 442
Atlanta Dream 15–39 276
Washington Mystics 21–33 178
Los Angeles Sparks 27–27 104

The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2020 and 2021 WNBA seasons. In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1–14 are placed in a lottery machine and mixed. Four balls are drawn to determine a four-digit combination (only 11–12–13–14 is ignored and redrawn). The team to which that four-ball combination is assigned receives the No. 1 pick. The four balls are then placed back into the machine and the process is repeated to determine the second pick. The two teams whose numerical combinations do not come up in the lottery will select in the inverse order of their two-year cumulative record. Ernst & Young knows the discreet results before they are announced.[4]

The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third rounds was determined by inverse order of the teams' respective regular-season records solely from 2021.

Eligibility

Under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the WNBA and its players' union, draft eligibility for players not defined as "international" requires the following to be true:[5]

  • The player's 22nd birthday falls during the calendar year of the draft. For this draft, the cutoff birth date is December 31, 2000.
  • She has either:
    • completed her college eligibility;
    • received a bachelor's degree, or is scheduled to receive such in the 3 months following the draft; or
    • is at least 4 years removed from high school graduation.

A player who is scheduled to receive her bachelor's degree within 3 months of the draft date, and is younger than the cutoff age, is only eligible if the calendar year of the draft is no earlier than the fourth after her high school graduation.

Players with remaining college eligibility who meet the cutoff age must notify the WNBA headquarters of their intent to enter the draft no later than 10 days before the draft date, and must renounce any remaining college eligibility to do so. A separate notification timetable is provided for players involved in postseason tournaments (most notably the NCAA Division I tournament); those players (normally) must declare for the draft within 24 hours of their final game.

"International players" are defined as those for whom all of the following is true:

  • Born and currently residing outside the U.S.
  • Never "exercised intercollegiate basketball eligibility" in the U.S.

For "international players", the eligibility age is 20, also measured on December 31 of the year of the draft.

Key
+ Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game
Bold Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year

Draft

First round
Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
1 Rhyne Howard +  United States Atlanta Dream (from Washington)[lower-alpha 1] Kentucky
2 NaLyssa Smith  United States Indiana Fever Baylor
3 Shakira Austin  United States Washington Mystics (from Atlanta)[lower-alpha 1] Ole Miss
4 Emily Engstler  United States Indiana Fever (from Los Angeles via Dallas)[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] Louisville
5 Nyara Sabally  Germany New York Liberty Oregon
6 Lexie Hull  United States Indiana Fever (from Dallas)[lower-alpha 2] Stanford
7 Veronica Burton  United States Dallas Wings (from Chicago via Dallas and Indiana)[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 2] Northwestern
8 Mya Hollingshed  Puerto Rico[11] Las Vegas Aces (from Minnesota via Phoenix, New York, and Seattle)[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 9] Colorado
9 Rae Burrell  United States Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle)[lower-alpha 10] Tennessee
10 Queen Egbo  United States Indiana Fever (from Minnesota)[lower-alpha 11] Baylor
11 Kierstan Bell  United States Las Vegas Aces Florida Gulf Coast
12 Nia Clouden  United States Connecticut Sun Michigan State

Second round
Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
13 Khayla Pointer  United States Las Vegas Aces (from Minnesota via Indiana)[lower-alpha 6] LSU
14 Christyn Williams  United States Washington Mystics (from Atlanta)[lower-alpha 1] UConn
15 Naz Hillmon  United States Atlanta Dream (from Los Angeles)[lower-alpha 12] Michigan
16 Kianna Smith  United States Los Angeles Sparks (from Washington)[lower-alpha 13] Louisville
17 Elissa Cunane  United States Seattle Storm (from New York)[lower-alpha 8] NC State
18 Lorela Cubaj  Italy Seattle Storm (from Dallas)[lower-alpha 14] Georgia Tech
19 Olivia Nelson-Ododa  United States Los Angeles Sparks (from Chicago via Dallas)[lower-alpha 15][lower-alpha 16] UConn
20 Destanni Henderson  United States Indiana Fever (from Phoenix)[lower-alpha 17] South Carolina
21 Evina Westbrook  United States Seattle Storm UConn
22 Kayla Jones  United States Minnesota Lynx NC State
23 Aisha Sheppard  United States Las Vegas Aces Virginia Tech
24 Jordan Lewis  United States Connecticut Sun Baylor

Third round
Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
25 Ameshya Williams-Holliday  United States Indiana Fever Jackson State
26 Maya Dodson  United States Phoenix Mercury (from Atlanta)[lower-alpha 18] Notre Dame
27 Amy Atwell  Australia Los Angeles Sparks Hawaii
28 Hannah Sjerven  United States Minnesota Lynx (from Washington)[lower-alpha 19] South Dakota
29 Sika Koné  Mali New York Liberty CB Islas Canarias (Spain)
30 Jasmine Dickey  United States Dallas Wings Delaware
31 Jazz Bond  United States Dallas Wings (from Chicago)[lower-alpha 4] North Florida
32 Macee Williams  United States Phoenix Mercury IUPUI
33 Jade Melbourne  Australia Seattle Storm Canberra Capitals (Australia)
34 Ali Patberg  United States Indiana Fever (from Minnesota)[lower-alpha 11] Indiana
35 Faustine Aifuwa  United States Las Vegas Aces LSU
36 Kiara Smith  United States Connecticut Sun Florida

Footnotes
  1. April 6, 2022: Washington to Atlanta[6]
    • Atlanta acquired a 2022 first-round pick (1st overall)
    • Washington acquired 2022 first-round and second-round picks (3rd and 14th overall), and the right to swap picks with Los Angeles in 2023
  2. March 8, 2022: Dallas to Indiana[7]
    • Dallas acquired Teaira McCowan, a 2022 first-round pick, and Chicago's 2023 first-round pick
    • Indiana acquired 2022 first-round picks and a 2023 first-round pick
  3. April 14, 2021: Los Angeles to Dallas[8]
    • Los Angeles acquired 2021 first-round and 2022 second-round picks
    • Dallas acquired a 2022 first-round pick
  4. June 2, 2021: Dallas to Chicago[9]
    • Chicago acquired Dana Evans and a 2022 first-round pick
    • Dallas acquired Shyla Heal, 2022 first- and third-round picks
  5. February 3, 2022: Chicago to Indiana (three-team trade with Phoenix)[10]
    • Chicago acquired Julie Allemand and 2023 first-round pick from Indiana
    • Indiana acquired Bria Hartley, 2022 first-round pick from Chicago, 2022 and 2023 second-round picks from Phoenix
    • Phoenix acquired Diamond DeShields
  6. April 10, 2022: Minnesota to Las Vegas[12]
    • Minnesota acquired Vegas's 1st and 2nd Round Picks in 2023
    • Las Vegas acquired the 8th and 13th Picks in 2022
  7. February 10, 2021: Phoenix to New York[13]
  8. February 10, 2021: New York to Seattle[14]
    • New York acquired Natasha Howard
    • Seattle acquired 2021 first-round and 2022 second-round picks, and Phoenix's 2022 first-round pick
  9. February 11, 2021: Seattle to Minnesota[15]
  10. February 3, 2022: Seattle to Los Angeles[16]
  11. February 15, 2021: Minnesota to Indiana[17]
    • Minnesota acquired Indiana's 2022 second-round pick
    • Indiana acquired Odyssey Sims, Temi Fagbenle, Minnesota's 2022 first- and third-round picks
  12. February 5, 2022: Los Angeles to Atlanta[18]
  13. May 13, 2021: Washington to Los Angeles[19]
    • Washington acquired Sydney Wiese
    • Los Angeles acquired Washington's 2022 second-round pick
  14. February 10, 2021: Seattle to Dallas[20]
    • Seattle acquired Katie Lou Samuelson and a 2022 second-round pick
    • Dallas acquired New York's 2021 first-round pick
  15. February 9, 2021: Chicago to Dallas[21]
    • Chicago acquired a 2021 second-round pick
    • Dallas acquired Chicago's 2022 second-round pick
  16. April 14, 2021: Dallas to Los Angeles[22]
    • Dallas acquired a 2022 first-round pick
    • Los Angeles acquired 2021 first-round and 2022 second-round picks
  17. February 3, 2022: Phoenix to Indiana (three-team trade with Chicago) → see Chicago to Indiana (note D)
  18. February 13, 2021: Phoenix to Atlanta[23]
    • Phoenix acquired a 2022 third-round pick
    • Atlanta acquired Yvonne Turner
  19. February 5, 2021: Minnesota to Washington[24]
    • Minnesota acquired a 2022 third-round pick
    • Washington acquired Erica McCall

See also

References
  1. Philippou, Alexa (March 10, 2022). "2022 WNBA draft to be held April 11 in NYC". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  2. "WNBA Draft Lottery 2022 presented By State Farm To Take Place Sunday Dec. 19 On ESPN". espn.com. WNBA. December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  3. "Washington Mystics Win Top Pick In 2022 WNBA Draft Presented By State Farm". wnba.com. WNBA. December 19, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  4. "New York Liberty Wins Top Pick In 2021 WNBA Draft Presented By State Farm". WNBA. December 4, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2021. A representative from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young was in attendance to oversee the Lottery process.
  5. "Article XIII, Section 1: Player Eligibility" (PDF). 2020 Women's National Basketball Association Collective Bargaining Agreement. Women's National Basketball Players Association. pp. 110–111. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  6. "Dream Lands 2022 Number One Overall Draft Pick". WNBA. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  7. "Dallas Wings Acquire Teaira McCowan". WNBA. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  8. "Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks Exchange Draft Picks". WNBA. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  9. "Chicago Sky Acquire Dana Evans From Dallas". WNBA. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  10. "Mercury, Fever & Sky Complete Three-Team Trade". WNBA.com. March 3, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  11. "Programa Nacional Femenino recibe autorización de FIBA para naturalizar a Mya Hollingshed". puertorico.basketball (in Spanish). FBPUR. July 8, 2022.
  12. "Minnesota Lynx Acquire 2023 First and Second-Round Picks". WNBA. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  13. "MERCURY ACQUIRES ALL-STAR WING KIA NURSE AND WING MEGAN WALKER". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  14. "New York Liberty Acquire Natasha Howard And Sami Whitcomb". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  15. "Lynx trade Mikiah Herbert Harrigan to Seattle for draft pick". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  16. "Storm & Sparks Complete Trade". wnba.com. WNBA. February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  17. "Lynx Acquire 2022 Second-Round Pick For Odyssey Sims and Temi Fagbenle". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  18. "Dream Acquire Erica Wheeler, 2023 First Round Pick and 2022 Second Round Pick in Trade with Sparks". WNBA. February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  19. "Sparks Trade Sydney Wiese to Washington Mystics". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  20. "Storm Acquires Katie Lou Samuelson, Mikiah "Kiki" Herbert Harrigan; Rights To Stephanie Talbot And Two 2022 Draft Picks". WNBA. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  21. "Sky Acquire 2021 Second-Round Draft Pick". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  22. "Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks Exchange Draft Picks". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  23. "Dream Acquire Yvonne Turner From Phoenix". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  24. "Minnesota Lynx Acquire 2022 Third-Round Draft Pick in Exchange for Forward Erica McCall". WNBA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
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