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2023 WNBA draft

{{Short description|Basketball player selection}}

{{Infobox sports draft

| league = WNBA

| teams = 12

| name = 2023 WNBA Draft

| image = 2023WNBADraft.png

| imagesize =

| caption =

| sport = Basketball

| date = April 10, 2023

| location = Spring Studios New York
Manhattan, New York City

| network =

United States: ESPN
Canada: TSN3/5

| first = Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever

| prev = 2022

| next = 2024

}}

The 2023 WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) Draft, the WNBA's draft for the 2023 WNBA season and 28th draft in WNBA history, was held following the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 2023 draft took place at Spring Studios New York on April 10, 2023. It was exclusively televised on ESPN in the United States and on TSN3/5 in Canada at 7:00 p.m. EDT.{{cite web |title=WNBA Draft 2023 Presented By State Farm To Be Held On April 10th |url=https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-draft-2023-april-10/ |website=wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=February 24, 2023}}

Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2023 draft took place on November 11, 2022, and was televised on ESPN leading into ESPN's women's college basketball game that evening featuring defending National Champion South Carolina at Maryland.{{cite web |title=WNBA Draft Lottery 2023 Presented By State Farm To Take Place Friday, NOV. 11 |url=https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-draft-lottery-2023-presented-by-state-farm-to-take-place-friday-nov-11/ |website=wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=November 13, 2022}} The four non-playoff teams in 2022 qualified from the lottery drawing: Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks, and the Minnesota Lynx. The Sparks made a trade in February 2022 that allowed their pick to ultimately end up with the Washington Mystics at the time of the drawing. Each team had a representative at the lottery drawing - Kelsey Mitchell for the Fever, Head Coach Tanisha Wright for the Dream, Natasha Cloud for the Mystics, and Napheesa Collier for the Lynx. The Fever won the lottery for the first time in franchise history and were awarded the top pick in the draft. The rest of the order went as the following: Lynx, Dream, and Mystics.{{cite web |last1=Philippou |first1=Alexa |title=Indiana Fever earn No. 1 pick in 2023 WNBA draft for first time |url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/35004498/indiana-fever-earn-no-1-pick-wnba-draft-first |website=ESPN.com |date=11 November 2022 |publisher=ESPN |access-date=November 13, 2022}}

=Lottery chances=

Note: Team selected for No.1 pick noted in bold text

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center; width: 70%"

! Team

! Combined 2021–22 record

! Lottery chances

! Result

Indiana Fever

| 11–57

| 44.2%

| 1st pick

Atlanta Dream

| 22–46

| 27.6%

| 3rd pick

Washington Mystics {{small|(from Los Angeles)}}

| 25–43{{efn|Los Angeles' record}}

| 17.8%

| 4th pick

Minnesota Lynx

| 36–32

| 10.4%

| 2nd pick

{{notelist}}

The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2021 and 2022 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 |title=Napheesa Collier to Represent Minnesota Lynx at WNBA Draft Lottery 2023 Presented by State Farm |url=https://lynx.wnba.com/news/napheesa-collier-to-represent-minnesota-lynx-at-wnba-draft-lottery-2023-presented-by-state-farm/ |website=Minnesota Lynx |publisher=WNBA |access-date=November 12, 2022}}

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 2022.

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, 2001.
  • 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 invitees

On April 7, 2023, the WNBA released the names of the players who would be invited to be in attendance at the draft.{{cite web |title=South Carolina's Aliyah Boston, Maryland's Diamond Miller And Villanov's Maddy Siegrist Headline Prospects To Attend WNBA Draft 2023 Presented By State Farm |url=https://www.wnba.com/news/2023-wnba-draft-invitee-list/ |website=wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=April 7, 2023}}

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}

{{div col end}}

Draft

{{WNBA Draft legend|4=y|6=y|7=y}}

File:Aliyah Boston (53029603721) (cropped).jpg was selected 1st overall by the Indiana Fever.]]

File:Diamond Miller Lynx.jpg was selected 2nd overall by the Minnesota Lynx.]]

File:Maddy Siegrist (cropped).jpg was selected 3rd overall by the Dallas Wings.]]

File:Haley Jones Final Four (cropped).jpg was selected 6th overall by the Atlanta Dream.]]

File:Jordan Horston (53133689014) (cropped).jpg was selected 9th overall by the Seattle Storm.]]

File:Dorka Juhász (53063062868).jpg was selected 16th overall by the Minnesota Lynx.]]

=First round=

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
width=30|Pick

! width=333|Player

! width=200|Nationality

! width=383|Team

! width=333|School / club team

1

| bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Aliyah Boston+

| {{USA}}

| Indiana Fever

| South Carolina

2

| Diamond Miller

| {{USA}}

| Minnesota Lynx

| Maryland

3

| Maddy Siegrist

| {{USA}}

| Dallas Wings {{small|(from Atlanta)}}{{refn|January 21, 2023: Atlanta to Dallas{{cite web |title=Atlanta Dream Land Allisha Gray |url=https://dream.wnba.com/news/atlanta-dream-land-allisha-gray/ |website=dream.wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=22 January 2023}}

  • Atlanta acquired Allisha Gray
  • Dallas acquired 2023 and 2025 first-round picks|group=lower-alpha|name=DreamWings}}

| Villanova

4

| Stephanie Soares

| {{BRA}}

| Washington Mystics {{small|(from Los Angeles via Atlanta, traded to Dallas)}}{{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=November 13, 2022|website=WNBA|language=en}}

  • Atlanta acquired Erica Wheeler, a 2022 second-round pick, and a 2023 first-round pick
  • Los Angeles acquired Chennedy Carter and the rights to Li Yueru|group=lower-alpha|name=SparksDream}}{{refn|April 6, 2022: Atlanta to Washington{{cite web|title=Dream Lands 2022 Number One Overall Draft Pick|url=https://dream.wnba.com/news/dream-lands-2022-number-one-overall-draft-pick/|access-date=November 13, 2022|website=WNBA|language=en}}
  • Atlanta acquired 2022 (1st overall) and 2023 first-round picks
  • Washington acquired 2022 first- and second-round picks (3rd and 14th overall), and option to swap its own 2023 first-round pick with the 2023 first-round pick Atlanta acquired from Los Angeles|group=lower-alpha|name=DreamMystics}}{{refn|April 10, 2023: Washington to Dallas{{cite web |author=DBragaSports |title=Stephanie Soares selected 4th overall in WNBA Draft |url=https://www.widerightnattylite.com/2023/4/10/23678063/stephanie-soares-selected-4th-overall-in-wnba-draft |website=SBNation |access-date=10 April 2023|date=April 10, 2023}}
  • Dallas acquired the rights to Stephanie Soares
  • Washington acquired 2024 second-round and 2025 first-round picks (via Atlanta)|group=lower-alpha|name=SparksWings}}

| Iowa State

5

| Lou Lopez Sénéchal

| {{MEX}}

| Dallas Wings {{small|(from Phoenix via Chicago)}}{{refn|February 3, 2022: Three-team trade among Chicago, Indiana, and Phoenix{{Cite web|title=Mercury, Fever & Sky Complete Three-Team Trade|url=https://www.wnba.com/news/mercury-fever-sky-complete-three-team-trade/|date=March 3, 2022|access-date=February 4, 2022|website=WNBA.com|language=en}}

  • Chicago acquired Julie Allemand from Indiana and a 2023 first-round pick from Phoenix
  • Indiana acquired Bria Hartley, 2022 and 2023 first-round pick from Chicago, 2022 and 2023 second-round picks from Phoenix
  • Phoenix acquired Diamond DeShields|name=SkyFeverMercury|group=lower-alpha}}{{refn|February 11, 2023: Four-team trade among Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Phoenix{{Cite web|title=Chicago Sky Acquires Marina Mabrey in Four-Team Trade|url=https://sky.wnba.com/news/chicago-sky-acquires-marina-mabrey-in-four-team-trade/|date=February 12, 2023|access-date=February 12, 2023|website=WNBA.com|language=en}}
  • Chicago acquired Marina Mabrey and a 2024 second-round pick (from Phoenix)
  • New York acquired rights to Leonie Fiebich, a 2024 second-round pick (from Chicago), and the right to swap 2025 first-round picks (from Phoenix)
  • Phoenix acquired Michaela Onyenwere, 2024 third-round pick (from Chicago), and 2025 second-round pick (from Chicago)
  • Dallas acquired Diamond DeShields, 2023 and 2024 first-round picks (from Chicago), and the right to swap 2025 first-round picks (from Chicago)

|name=SkyLibertyMercuryWings|group=lower-alpha}}

| UConn

6

| Haley Jones

| {{USA}}

| Atlanta Dream {{small|(from New York via Connecticut)}}{{refn|January 16, 2023: Three-team trade among New York, Connecticut, and Dallas{{cite web |title=Connecticut Sun Acquire Rebecca Allen, Tyasha Harris and the No. 6 Pick in a Three-Team Trade |url=https://sun.wnba.com/news/connecticut-sun-acquire-rebecca-allen-tyasha-harris-and-the-no-6-pick-in-a-three-team-trade/ |website=Connecticut Sun |publisher=WNBA |access-date=January 17, 2023}}

  • Connecticut acquired Rebecca Allen and a 2023 first-round pick from New York, and Tyasha Harris from Dallas
  • Dallas acquired Natasha Howard and Crystal Dangerfield from New York
  • New York acquired Jonquel Jones from Connecticut and Kayla Thornton from Dallas|group=lower-alpha|name=SunWingsLiberty}}{{refn|February 9, 2023: Connecticut to Atlanta{{cite web |title=Connecticut Sun Acquire Rights to Tiffany Hayes|url=https://sun.wnba.com/news/connecticut-sun-acquire-rights-to-tiffany-hayes/|website=Connecticut Sun |publisher=WNBA |access-date=February 19, 2023}}
  • Connecticut acquired rights to Tiffany Hayes
  • Atlanta acquired a 2023 first-round pick (6th overall)|group=lower-alpha|name=SunDream}}

| Stanford

7

| Grace Berger

| {{USA}}

| Indiana Fever {{small|(from Dallas)}}{{refn|March 8, 2022: Indiana to Dallas{{cite web|title=Fever Acquire Draft Picks in Trade with Dallas Wings|url=https://fever.wnba.com/news/fever-acquire-draft-picks-in-trade-with-dallas-wings/|access-date=November 13, 2022|website=WNBA|language=en}}

  • Indiana acquired two 2022 first-round picks (4th and 6th) and a 2023 first-round pick
  • Dallas acquired Teaira McCowan, a 2022 first-round pick, and Chicago's 2023 first-round pick|group=lower-alpha|name=FeverWings}}

| Indiana

8

| Laeticia Amihere

| {{CAN}}

| Atlanta Dream {{small|(from Washington)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=DreamMystics}}

| South Carolina

9

| Jordan Horston

| {{USA}}

| Seattle Storm

| Tennessee

10

| Zia Cooke

| {{USA}}

| Los Angeles Sparks {{small|(from Connecticut)}}{{refn|January 16, 2023: Connecticut to Los Angeles{{cite web |title=Sparks Acquire Guard Jasmine Thomas |url=https://sparks.wnba.com/news/sparks-acquire-guard-jasmine-thomas/ |website=sparks.wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=17 January 2023}}

| South Carolina

11

| Abby Meyers

| {{USA}}

| Dallas Wings {{small|(from Chicago via Indiana)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=FeverWings}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=SkyFeverMercury}}

| Maryland

12

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Maïa Hirsch#

| {{FRA}}

| Minnesota Lynx {{small|(from Las Vegas)}}{{refn|April 10, 2022: Las Vegas to Minnesota{{cite web|title=Aces Acquire No. 8 and 13 picks from Minnesota|url=https://aces.wnba.com/news/aces-acquire-no-8-and-13-picks-from-minnesota/|access-date=November 13, 2022|website=WNBA|language=en}}

  • Vegas acquired a 2022 first- and second-round picks (8th and 13th overall)
  • Minnesota acquired 2023 first- and second-round picks|group=lower-alpha|name=AcesLynx}}

| ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq

=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

| Taylor Mikesell

| {{USA}}

| Indiana Fever

| Ohio State

14

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Shaneice Swain#

| {{AUS}}

| Los Angeles Sparks

| Cairns Dolphins

15

| Leigha Brown

| {{USA}}

| Atlanta Dream

| Michigan

16

| Dorka Juhász

| {{HUN}}

| Minnesota Lynx

| UConn

17

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| LaDazhia Williams#

| {{USA}}

| Indiana Fever {{small|(from Phoenix)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=SkyFeverMercury}}

| LSU

18

| Madi Williams

| {{USA}}

| Seattle Storm {{small|(from New York)}}{{refn|April 11, 2022: New York to Seattle{{cite web|title=New York Liberty Select Nyara Sabally, Lorela Cubaj and Sika Kone in 2022 WNBA Draft|url=https://liberty.wnba.com/news/new-york-liberty-select-nyara-sabally-lorela-cubaj-and-sika-kone-in-2022-wnba-draft/|access-date=November 13, 2022|website=WNBA|language=en|date=April 11, 2022}}

  • New York acquired Lorela Cubaj
  • Seattle acquired a 2023 second-round pick|group=lower-alpha|name=LibertyStorm}}

| Oklahoma

19

| Ashley Joens

| {{USA}}

| Dallas Wings

| Iowa State

20

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Elena Tsineke#

| {{GRE}}

| Washington Mystics

| South Florida

21

| Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu

| {{CMR}}

| Seattle Storm

| South Florida

22

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Alexis Morris#

| {{USA}}

| Connecticut Sun

| LSU

23

| Kayana Traylor

| {{USA}}

| Chicago Sky

| Virginia Tech

24

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Brea Beal#

| {{USA}}

| Minnesota Lynx {{small|(from Las Vegas)}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=AcesLynx}}

| South Carolina

=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

| Victaria Saxton

| {{USA}}

| Indiana Fever

| South Carolina

26

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Monika Czinano#

| {{USA}}

| Los Angeles Sparks

| Iowa

27

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Destiny Harden#

| {{USA}}

| Phoenix Mercury {{small|(from Atlanta)}}{{refn|January 31, 2022: Atlanta to Phoenix{{cite tweet|title=Transaction: Atlanta acquires Kia Vaughn in a trade with Phoenix in exchange for a 2023 third round draft pick.|number=1488263455534628868|access-date=November 13, 2022|website=twitter.com|language=en|user=ATLDreamPR|author=Atlanta Dream PR}}

  • Atlanta acquired Kia Vaughn
  • Phoenix acquired a 2023 third-round pick|group=lower-alpha|name=DreamMercury}}

| Miami

28

| Taylor Soule

| {{USA}}

| Minnesota Lynx

| Virginia Tech

29

| Kadi Sissoko

| {{FRA}}

| Phoenix Mercury

| USC

30

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Okako Adika#

| {{DEN}}

| New York Liberty

| USC

31

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Paige Robinson#

| {{USA}}

| Dallas Wings

| Illinois State

32

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| {{ill|Txell Alarcón|es}}#

| {{ESP}}

| Washington Mystics

| Araski AES

33

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Jade Loville#

| {{USA}}

| Seattle Storm

| Arizona

34

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Ashten Prechtel#

| {{USA}}

| Connecticut Sun

| Stanford

35

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Kseniya Malashka#

| {{BLR}}

| Chicago Sky

| Middle Tennessee

36

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| Brittany Davis#

| {{USA}}

| Las Vegas Aces

| Alabama

Trades

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

See also

References

{{reflist}}

{{WNBA Drafts}}

{{2023 WNBA season by team}}

{{2023 WNBA draft}}

Category:WNBA draft

WNBA draft