2022 WNBA draft
{{Short description|Basketball player selection}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| league = WNBA
| teams = 12
| name = 2022 WNBA Draft
| image = 2022 WNBA Draft Logo.jpeg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| sport = Basketball
| date = April 11, 2022
| location = New York City
| network = United States: ESPN
Canada: TSN1/4
| first = Rhyne Howard
Atlanta Dream
| prev = 2021
| next = 2023
}}
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.{{Cite web |last=Philippou |first=Alexa |date=March 10, 2022 |title=2022 WNBA draft to be held April 11 in NYC |url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/33469993/2022-wnba-draft-held-april-11-new-york-city |access-date=March 10, 2022 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}} The draft was the 27th in WNBA history.
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-draft-lottery-2022-presented-by-state-farm-to-take-place-sunday-dec-19-on-espn/|title=WNBA Draft Lottery 2022 presented By State Farm To Take Place Sunday Dec. 19 On ESPN|website=espn.com|publisher=WNBA|date=December 2, 2021|access-date=December 13, 2021}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.wnba.com/news/washington-mystics-win-top-pick-in-2022-wnba-draft-presented-by-state-farm/|title=Washington Mystics Win Top Pick In 2022 WNBA Draft Presented By State Farm|website=wnba.com|publisher=WNBA|date=December 19, 2021|access-date=December 20, 2021}} 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=
Note: Team selected for the No. 1 pick noted in bold text.
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center; width: 70%"
! Team ! Combined 2020–21 record ! Lottery chances ! Result |
| Indiana Fever
| 12–42 | 44.2% | 2nd pick |
| Atlanta Dream
| 15–39 | 27.6% | 3rd pick |
| Washington Mystics
| 21–33 | 17.8% | 1st pick |
| Dallas Wings {{small|(from Los Angeles)}}
| 27–27{{efn|Los Angeles' record}} | 10.4% | 4th pick |
{{notelist}}
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.wnba.com/news/new-york-liberty-wins-top-pick-in-2021-wnba-draft-presented-by-state-farm/|title=New York Liberty Wins Top Pick In 2021 WNBA Draft Presented By State Farm|website=WNBA|date=December 4, 2020|accessdate=September 30, 2021|quote=A representative from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young was in attendance to oversee the Lottery process.}}
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:{{cite web|url=https://wnbpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/WNBA-WNBPA-CBA-2020-2027.pdf |title=Article XIII, Section 1: Player Eligibility |work=2020 Women's National Basketball Association Collective Bargaining Agreement |pages=110–111 |publisher=Women's National Basketball Players Association |accessdate=December 14, 2020}}
- 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.
Draft
File:Rhyne Howard.jpg was selected 1st overall by the Atlanta Dream.]]
File:NaLyssa Smith.jpg was selected 2nd overall by the Indiana Fever.]]
File:Shakira Austin 2024 (cropped).jpg was selected 3rd overall by the Washington Mystics.]]
File:Emily Engstler Lynx.jpg was selected 4th overall by the Indiana Fever.]]
File:Nyara Sabally 2024 (cropped).jpg was selected 5th overall by the New York Liberty.]]
File:Lexie Hull Fever.jpg was selected 6th overall by the Indiana Fever.]]
{{WNBA Draft legend|4=y|6=7|7=y}}
=First round=
=Second round=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |
| width=30|Pick
! width=333|Player ! width=200|Nationality ! width=383|Team ! width=333|School / club team |
|---|
| 13
| {{USA}} | Las Vegas Aces {{small|(from Minnesota via Indiana)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=LynxAces}} | LSU |
| 14
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Christyn Williams# | {{USA}} | Washington Mystics {{small|(from Atlanta)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=MysticsDream}} | UConn |
| 15
| {{USA}} | Atlanta Dream {{small|(from Los Angeles)}}{{refn|February 5, 2022: Los Angeles to Atlanta{{Cite web|title=Dream Acquire Erica Wheeler, 2023 First Round Pick and 2022 Second Round Pick in Trade with Sparks|url=https://dream.wnba.com/news/dream-acquire-erica-wheeler-2023-first-round-pick-and-2022-second-round-pick-in-trade-with-sparks/|access-date=February 16, 2022|website=WNBA|language=en|date=February 5, 2022}}
| Michigan |
| 16
| {{USA}} | Los Angeles Sparks {{small|(from Washington)}}{{refn|May 13, 2021: Washington to Los Angeles{{Cite web|title=Sparks Trade Sydney Wiese to Washington Mystics|url=https://sparks.wnba.com/news/sparks-trade-sydney-wiese-to-washington-mystics/|access-date=October 18, 2021|website=WNBA|language=en}}
|
| 17
| {{USA}} | Seattle Storm {{small|(from New York)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=LibertyStorm}} | NC State |
| 18
| {{ITA}} | Seattle Storm {{small|(from Dallas)}}{{refn|February 10, 2021: Seattle to Dallas{{Cite web|title=Storm Acquires Katie Lou Samuelson, Mikiah "Kiki" Herbert Harrigan; Rights To Stephanie Talbot And Two 2022 Draft Picks|url=https://www.wnba.com/news/storm-acquires-katie-lou-samuelson-mikiah-kiki-herbert-harrigan-rights-to-stephanie-talbot-and-two-2022-draft-picks/|access-date=February 10, 2021|website=WNBA|language=en}}
|
| 19
| {{USA}} | Los Angeles Sparks {{small|(from Chicago via Dallas)}}{{refn|February 9, 2021: Chicago to Dallas{{Cite web|title=Sky Acquire 2021 Second-Round Draft Pick|url=https://sky.wnba.com/news/sky-acquire-2021-second-round-draft-pick/|access-date=October 18, 2021|website=WNBA|language=en}}
| UConn |
| 20
| {{USA}} | Indiana Fever {{Small|(from Phoenix)}}{{refn|February 3, 2022: Phoenix to Indiana (three-team trade with Chicago) → see Chicago to Indiana (note D)|group=lower-alpha}} |
| 21
| {{USA}} | UConn |
| 22
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Kayla Jones# | {{USA}} | NC State |
| 23
| {{USA}} |
| 24
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Jordan Lewis# | {{USA}} | Baylor |
=Third round=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |
| width=30|Pick
! width=333|Player ! width=200|Nationality ! width=383|Team ! width=333|School / club team |
|---|
| 25
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Ameshya Williams-Holliday# | {{USA}} |
| 26
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Maya Dodson# | {{USA}} | Phoenix Mercury {{small|(from Atlanta)}}{{refn|February 13, 2021: Phoenix to Atlanta{{Cite web|title=Dream Acquire Yvonne Turner From Phoenix|url=https://dream.wnba.com/news/dream-acquire-yvonne-turner-from-phoenix/|access-date=October 18, 2021|website=WNBA|language=en}}
|
| 27
| {{AUS}} | Hawaii |
| 28
| {{USA}} | Minnesota Lynx {{small|(from Washington)}}{{refn|February 5, 2021: Minnesota to Washington{{Cite web|title=Minnesota Lynx Acquire 2022 Third-Round Draft Pick in Exchange for Forward Erica McCall|url=https://lynx.wnba.com/news/minnesota-lynx-acquire-2022-third-round-draft-pick-in-exchange-for-forward-erica-mccall/|access-date=October 18, 2021|website=WNBA|language=en}}
|
| 29
| {{MLI}} | CB Islas Canarias {{small|(Spain)}} |
| 30
| {{USA}} | Delaware |
| 31
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Jazz Bond# | {{USA}} | Dallas Wings {{small|(from Chicago)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=SkyWings}} |
| 32
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Macee Williams# | {{USA}} | IUPUI |
| 33
| {{AUS}} | Canberra Capitals ({{small|Australia)}} |
| 34
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Ali Patberg# | {{USA}} | Indiana Fever {{small|(from Minnesota)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=LynxFever}} | Indiana |
| 35
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Faustine Aifuwa# | {{USA}} | LSU |
| 36
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Kiara Smith# | {{USA}} | Florida |
Footnotes
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{WNBA Drafts}}
{{2022 WNBA season by team}}
{{2022 WNBA draft}}