WNBA elite draft
title: "WNBA elite draft" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["wnba-draft", "1997-wnba-season"] topic_path: "general/wnba-draft" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNBA_elite_draft" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox sports draft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | WNBA elite draft |
| sport | Basketball |
| date | February 27, 1997 |
| league | WNBA |
| rounds | 2 |
| first | Dena Head, |
| Tennessee | |
| next | 1997 draft |
| :: |
| name = WNBA elite draft | image = | caption = | logo = | logosize = | sport = Basketball | date = February 27, 1997 | location = | network = | league = WNBA | teams = | merging_teams = | rounds = 2 | first = Dena Head, Tennessee | prev = | next = 1997 draft
In 1997, the Women's National Basketball Association was created. In order to give new teams experienced talent, the league decided to have two drafts. An elite draft was held on February 27, 1997 to allow teams to pick players that had already graduated from college and have gone on to play professionally on in the United States or overseas.
The standard collegiate draft that most professional sports leagues hold occurred on April 28, 1997, prior to the start of the 1997 WNBA season.
Key
::data[format=table]
| Position | Guard | Forward | Center |
|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Draft
The following is the list of how players were picked in the 1997 WNBA elite draft:
Round 1
::data[format=table]
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | WNBA team | Former school/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dena Head | G | Utah Starzz | Tennessee | |
| 2 | Isabelle Fijalkowski | C/F | Cleveland Rockers | Colorado | |
| 3 | Rhonda Mapp | C/F | Charlotte Sting | North Carolina State | |
| 4 | Kym Hampton + | C/F | New York Liberty | Arizona State | |
| 5 | Wanda Guyton | F | Houston Comets | South Florida | |
| 6 | Judy Mosley-McAfee | F | Sacramento Monarchs | Hawaii | |
| 7 | Bridget Pettis | F | Phoenix Mercury | Florida | |
| 8 | Daedra Charles ^ | C | Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee | |
| :: |
Round 2
::data[format=table]
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | WNBA team | Former school/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Wendy Palmer * | F | Utah Starzz | Virginia | |
| 10 | Lynette Woodard ^ ! | G | Cleveland Rockers | Kansas | |
| 11 | Michi Atkins # | F | Charlotte Sting | Texas Tech | |
| 12 | Vickie Johnson + | F | New York Liberty | Louisiana Tech | |
| 13 | Janeth Arcain * ^ | F | Houston Comets | Polti | |
| 14 | Mikiko Hagiwara | G | JPN | Sacramento Monarchs | Japan Energy Griffins |
| 15 | Nancy Lieberman-Cline ^ ! | G | Phoenix Mercury | Old Dominion | |
| 16 | Zheng Haixia | C | Los Angeles Sparks | China | |
| :: |
References
References
- "The Formation of the WNBA".
- Mishra, Pratikshya. (April 15, 2025). "Revisiting the WNBA’s Historic 1997 Draft: Meet the Players Who Were Part of the Elite Draft".
- (February 28, 1997). "WNBA holds elite draft". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
- (March 1, 1997). "WNBA, list". Idaho Spokesman-Review.
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