2015 WNBA draft
{{Short description|Player selection process}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| name = 2015 WNBA draft
| image =
| caption =
| logo =
| logosize =
| sport = Basketball
| date = 16 April
| location = Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
| league = WNBA
| teams =
| first = Jewell Loyd
Seattle Storm
| territorial =
| prev = 2014
| next = 2016
}}
The 2015 WNBA draft was the league's draft for the 2015 WNBA season.{{cite web |url=http://www.wnba.com/news/seattle_wins_draft_lottery_2014_08_21.html |website=WNBA |title=Seattle Storm Win Top Pick in 2015 WNBA Draft Presented by State Farm}} The Seattle Storm picked first.
This year's draft was unusual in that two players with remaining college eligibility declared for the draft—Jewell Loyd of Notre Dame, who had one year of eligibility remaining, and Amanda Zahui B. of Minnesota, with two years remaining. Both players were draft-eligible by virtue of their births in 1993; under current draft rules, players who turn 22 in the calendar year of the draft can declare themselves eligible even if they have not completed college eligibility.{{cite news|url=http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_27918496/jewell-loyd-amanda-zahui-b-shake-up-wnba |title=Jewell Loyd, Amanda Zahui B. shake up WNBA draft |first=Doug |last=Feinberg |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Denver Post |date=April 15, 2015 |access-date=January 14, 2016}} Before this season, only two players with remaining college eligibility had ever entered the WNBA draft, and only one of these did so before her fourth college season (Kelsey Bone in 2012).{{cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/womens-college-basketball-is-better-than-mens/ |title=Women's College Basketball Is Better Than Men's |first=Benjamin |last=Morris |publisher=FiveThirtyEight |date=April 27, 2015 |access-date=June 7, 2016}}
Draft lottery
The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2015 draft occurred on August 21, 2014. The team that would get the first pick would be the winner of the lottery.[https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/11391119/seattle-storm-win-wnba-draft-lottery-secure-no-1-pck Seattle Storm win WNBA draft lottery, secure No. 1 pick - ESPN]
Note: Team selected for the No. 1 pick noted in bold text.
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center; width: 70%"
! Team ! 2014 record ! Result |
Seattle Storm
| 12–22 | 35.9% | 1st pick |
Tulsa Shock
| 12–22 | 35.9% | 2nd pick |
Connecticut Sun
| 13–21 | 17.8% | 3rd pick |
Connecticut Sun {{small|(from New York Liberty)}}
| 15–19{{efn|New York's record}} | 10.4% | 4th pick |
{{notelist}}
Draft invitees
The WNBA announced on April 13, 2015 the 12 players invited to attend the draft.{{cite press release |url=http://www.wnba.com/news/loyd_mosquedalewis_headline__2015_04_13.html |title=Loyd, Mosqueda-Lewis Headline List of Top College Prospects to Attend WNBA Draft 2015 Presented by State Farm |publisher=WNBA |date=April 13, 2015 |access-date=April 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414034101/http://www.wnba.com/news/loyd_mosquedalewis_headline__2015_04_13.html |archive-date=April 14, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
- {{flagicon|USA}} Brittany Boyd, California
- {{flagicon|USA}} Reshanda Gray, California
- {{flagicon|USA}} Dearica Hamby, Wake Forest
- {{flagicon|USA}} Isabelle Harrison, Tennessee
- {{flagicon|USA}} Brittany Hrynko, DePaul
- {{flagicon|USA}} Samantha Logic, Iowa
- {{flagicon|USA}} Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame
- {{flagicon|USA}} Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut
- {{flagicon|USA}} Kiah Stokes, Connecticut
- {{flagicon|USA}} Aleighsa Welch, South Carolina
- {{flagicon|USA}} Elizabeth Williams, Duke
- {{flagicon|SWE}} Amanda Zahui B., Minnesota
{{div col end}}
Key
{{WNBA Draft legend|1=y|2=y|3=y|4=y|6=y|7=y}}
Draft
File:Jewell Loyd 2024 (cropped).jpg was selected 1st overall by the Seattle Storm.]]
File:Elizabeth Olatayo Williams 1 Fenerbahçe Women's Basketball 20191031 (1).jpg was selected 4th overall by the Connecticut Sun.]]
File:230523 Lynx Dreaml JohnMc55.jpg was selected 5th overall by the Chicago Sky.]]
File:Dearica Hamby 2024 (cropped).jpg was selected 6th overall by the San Antonio Stars.]]
File:Natasha Cloud 2024 (cropped).jpg was selected 15th overall by the Washington Mystics.]]
File:Betnijah Laney 2023.jpg was selected 17th overall by the Chicago Sky.]]
=Round 1=
class="wikitable sortable" |
width=30|Pick
! width=333|Player ! width=200|Nationality ! width=383|Team ! width="333"|School / club team |
---|
1
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"|Jewell Loyd * | {{USA}} |
2
| {{SWE}} |
3
| rowspan=10| {{USA}} | Seattle Storm {{small|(from Connecticut)}}{{#tag:ref|The Storm traded Camille Little and Shekinna Stricklen to Connecticut for the 3rd and 15th picks in this draft.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/team/transactions/_/name/sea/seattle-storm|title=Seattle Storm 2015 Team Transactions|access-date=2015-03-21|publisher=ESPN|work=ESPN}}|group=lower-alpha|name=note_a}} |
4
| bgcolor=#FFCC00| Elizabeth Williams + | Connecticut Sun {{small|(from New York)}} | Duke |
5
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"| Cheyenne Parker + |
6
| bgcolor=#FFCC00| Dearica Hamby + | San Antonio Stars {{small|(from Indiana)}}{{#tag:ref|The Stars traded Shenise Johnson and their second-round pick to Indiana for the first- and third-round picks in this draft.[http://www.wnba.com/news/fever_acquire_shenise_johnson_2015_03_12.html Fever Acquire Shenise Johnson From Stars]|group=lower-alpha|name=note_b}} |
7 |
8
| Dayton |
9
| New York Liberty {{small|(from San Antonio)}} |
10
| Iowa |
11
| New York Liberty {{small|(from Minnesota)}} | Connecticut |
12 |
=Round 2=
class="wikitable sortable" |
width=30|Pick
! width=333|Player ! width=200|Nationality ! width=383|Team ! width=333|School / club team |
---|
13
| rowspan=11|{{USA}} |
14
| Los Angeles Sparks {{small|(from Seattle)}} |
15
| Washington Mystics {{small|(from Connecticut via Seattle)}} |
16
| Minnesota Lynx {{small|(from New York)}} |
17
| bgcolor=#FFCC00|Betnijah Laney + | Rutgers |
18
| Phoenix Mercury {{small| (from Indiana)}}{{refn|May 12, 2014: Indiana to Phoenix{{cite web |title=Indiana Acquires Two-Time Big Ten Player of the Year Maggie Lucas |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/indiana-acquires-two-time-big-ten-player-of-the-year-maggie-lucas/n-4787310 |website=Our Sports Central |date=May 12, 2014 |access-date=June 4, 2025}}
|
19
| Brittany Hrynko {{small|(traded to Atlanta)}} | Connecticut Sun {{small|(from Los Angeles)}} | DePaul |
20
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Vicky McIntyre # | Seattle Storm {{small|(from Washington)}} |
21
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Chelsea Gardner # | Indiana Fever {{small|(from San Antonio)}} | Kansas |
22
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Aleighsa Welch # | Chicago Sky {{small|(from Atlanta)}} |
23
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Amber Orrange # | New York Liberty {{small|(from Minnesota)}} | Stanford |
24
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Žofia Hruščáková # | {{SVK}} | Phoenix Mercury | Good Angels Košice {{small|(Slovakia)}} |
=Round 3=
class="wikitable sortable" |
width=30|Pick
! width=333|Player ! width=200|Nationality ! width=383|Team ! width=333|School / club team |
---|
25
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Mimi Mungedi # | {{GAB}} | Nevada |
26
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Nneka Enemkpali # | rowspan=4| {{USA}} | Texas |
27
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Laurin Mincy # | New York Liberty {{small|(from Connecticut)}} | Maryland |
28
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Michala Johnson # | New York Liberty {{small|(from Minnesota)}} |
29
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Ariel Massengale # |
30
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Dragana Stanković # | {{SRB}} | San Antonio Stars {{small|(from Indiana)}} | UNIQA Euroleasing Sopron {{small|(Hungary)}} |
31
| {{USA}} | Dayton |
32
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Marica Gajić # | {{BIH}} |
33
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Nikki Moody # | rowspan=3| {{USA}} | San Antonio Stars |
34
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Lauren Okafor # | Atlanta Dream |
35
| Minnesota Lynx {{small|(from New York)}} |
36
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Promise Amukamara # | {{NGA}} |
Footnotes
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References
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{WNBA Drafts}}
{{2015 WNBA season by team}}
{{2015 WNBA draft}}