1997 WNBA draft

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First player selection draft in league history

title: "1997 WNBA draft" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["wnba-draft", "1997-wnba-season"] description: "First player selection draft in league history" topic_path: "general/wnba-draft" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_WNBA_draft" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary First player selection draft in league history ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox sports draft"]

FieldValue
name1997 WNBA draft
sportBasketball
dateApril 28, 1997
leagueWNBA
firstTina Thompson
Houston Comets
prev1997 elite draft
next1998
::

| name = 1997 WNBA draft | image = | caption = | logo = | logosize = | sport = Basketball | date = April 28, 1997 | location = | network = | league = WNBA | teams = | first = Tina Thompson Houston Comets | territorial = | prev = 1997 elite draft | next = 1998 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

::data[format=table]

CountPlayerPositionNationalityTeamSchool / club team
1+ ^CCharlotte StingMaryland
2*GCharlotte StingNC State
3^CCleveland RockersLouisiana Tech
4^GCleveland RockersIowa
5* ^ !FHouston CometsTexas Tech
6* ^ !GHouston CometsUSC
7* ^ !CLos Angeles SparksUSC
8GLos Angeles SparksLong Beach State
9+ ^C/FNew York LibertyConnecticut
10* ^ !GNew York LibertyLouisiana Tech
11+ ^ !GPhoenix MercuryWTV Wuppertal (Germany)
12* ^CPhoenix MercuryOle Miss
13* ^GSacramento MonarchsAuburn
14^FSacramento MonarchsTennessee
15+C/FUtah StarzzCSKA Moscow (Russia)
16GUtah StarzzGeorgia
::

Note: 16 players assigned in no particular order.

Elite draft

Main article: WNBA 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

::data[format=table]

PickPlayerPositionNationalityTeamSchool / club team
1GUtah StarzzTennessee
2C/FCleveland RockersColorado
3C/FCharlotte StingNC State
4+C/FNew York LibertyArizona State
5FHouston CometsSouth Florida
6FSacramento MonarchsHawaii
7FPhoenix MercuryFlorida
8^CLos Angeles SparksTennessee
::

Round 2

::data[format=table]

PickPlayerPositionNationalityTeamSchool / club team
9*FUtah StarzzVirginia
10^ !GCleveland RockersKansas
11FCharlotte StingTexas Tech
12+FNew York LibertyLouisiana Tech
13* ^FHouston CometsPolti (Brazil)
14GSacramento MonarchsJapan Energy Griffins (Japan)
15^ !GPhoenix MercuryOld Dominion
16Zheng HaixiaCLos Angeles SparksChina
::

College draft

Round 1

::data[format=table]

PickPlayerPositionNationalityTeamSchool / club team
1* ^ !FHouston CometsUSC
2^CSacramento MonarchsUSC
3GLos Angeles SparksStanford
4xGCzechoslovakia CzechoslovakiaCleveland RockersBourges (France)
5GUtah StarzzVirginia
6+ ^FNew York LibertyRutgers
7GCharlotte StingVirginia
8F/CPhoenix MercuryIowa
::

Round 2

::data[format=table]

PickPlayerPositionNationalityTeamSchool / club team
9G/FPhoenix MercuryIowa
10Sharon ManningC/FCharlotte StingNC State
11GNew York LibertyFlorida
12F/CUtah StarzzMaryland
13*G/FCleveland RockersFlorida
14*GLos Angeles SparksKansas
15CSacramento MonarchsHoward
16F/CHouston CometsFlorida
::

Round 3

::data[format=table]

PickPlayerPositionNationalityTeamSchool / club team
17#CHouston CometsLouisiana Tech
18GSacramento MonarchsAuburn
19GLos Angeles SparksMaryland
20GCleveland RockersPenn State
21F/CUtah StarzzColorado
22F/CNew York LibertyNC State
23GCharlotte StingLouisiana Tech
24G/FPhoenix MercuryNC State
::

Round 4

::data[format=table]

PickPlayerPositionNationalityTeamSchool / club team
25FPhoenix MercuryArizona State
26F/CCharlotte StingMercer
27G/FNew York LibertyGeorgia Tech
28GUtah StarzzDePaul
29FCleveland RockersNew Mexico State
30CLos Angeles SparksLamar
31CSacramento MonarchsGeorge Washington
32FHouston CometsTexas
::

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1997 WNBA draft but played at least one game for the WNBA. ::data[format=table]

PlayerPositionNationalitySchool / club team
GOhio State
GVirginia
FFurman
FAlabama
G/FLSU
FUSC
GTexas
*G/FTourbillon Kinshasa (Congo)
FOle Miss
PGSouthwestern Louisiana
GTennessee
::

References

References

  1. "Jenny Boucek Player File".
  2. "Rushia Brown Player File: Rockers".
  3. "Linda Burgess Player File: Monarchs".
  4. "Comets Player File: Pietra Gay".
  5. "Sparks Player File: Kim Gessig".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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