WNBA expansion draft#2006: Chicago Sky
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The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) expansion draft is an event hosted by the WNBA as needed that allows expansion teams to select from a pool of existing WNBA players to build their debut rosters. Pre-existing WNBA teams are allowed to protect six players on their current rosters from being drafted.
Prior to the 2000 expansion draft, the WNBA allocated players from outside of the league to new expansion teams both prior to and following the WNBA draft and expansion drafts.
The WNBA has hosted six expansion drafts since the league's creation in 1996 with the introduction of the Detroit Shock and Washington Mystics in 1998; the Minnesota Lynx and Orlando Miracle in 1999; the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and Seattle Storm in 2000; the Chicago Sky in 2006; the Atlanta Dream in 2008; and the Golden State Valkyries in 2024.
1998: Detroit Shock, Washington Mystics
=Initial player allocation=
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%" |
| width=50|Pick
! width=200|Player ! width=100|Nationality ! width=250|WNBA Team ! width=200|School/Club Team |
|---|
| 1
| Cindy Brown (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | Long Beach State (from Seattle Reign, ABL) |
| 2
| Razija Mujanović (C) | {{BIH}} |
| 3
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"|Nikki McCray (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Tennessee (from Columbus Quest, ABL) |
| 4
| Alessandra Santos de Oliveira (C) | {{flagu|Brazil}} | Pool Comense (Italy) |
=Expansion draft=
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%" |
| width=50|Pick
! width=200|Player ! width=100|Nationality ! width=250|New Team ! width=200|Former Team |
|---|
| 1
| Rhonda Blades (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 2
| Heidi Burge (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 3
| Tajama Abraham (C) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 4
| Penny Moore (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 5
| Tara Williams (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 6
| Deborah Carter (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 7
| Lynette Woodard (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 8
| Tammy Jackson (F/C) | {{flagu|United States}} |
1999: Minnesota Lynx, Orlando Miracle
=Initial Expansion Player Allocation=
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%" |
| width=50|Pick
!width=200|Player !width=100|Nationality !width=75 |New WNBA Team !width=150|Former WNBA Team !width=100|College/Country/Team |
|---|
| 1
| Kristin Folkl (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | None | Stanford |
| 2
| Nykesha Sales (G/F) | {{flagu|United States}} | None |
=Expansion Draft Selections=
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%" |
| width=50|Pick
!width=200|Player !width=100|Nationality !width=75 |New WNBA Team !width=150|Former WNBA Team !width=100|College/Country/Team |
|---|
| 1
| Brandy Reed (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 2
| Andrea Congreaves (F) | {{flagu|United Kingdom}} | Mercer |
| 3
| Kim Williams (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | DePaul |
| 4
| Kisha Ford (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 5
| Octavia Blue (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 6
| Yolanda Moore (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 7
| Adia Barnes (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | Arizona |
| 8
| Adrienne Johnson (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
=Post Expansion Draft Player Allocation=
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%" |
| width=50|Pick
!width=200|Player !width=100|Nationality !width=75 |New WNBA Team !width=150|Former WNBA Team !width=100|College/Country/Team |
|---|
| 1
| Katie Smith (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | None | Ohio State |
| 2
| Shannon Johnson (G/F) | {{flagu|United States}} | None | South Carolina |
2000: Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, Seattle Storm
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%" |
| width=50|Pick
!width=200|Player !width=100|Nationality !width=75 |New WNBA Team !width=150|Former WNBA Team !width=100|College/Country/Team |
|---|
| 1
| Gordana Grubin (G) | {{flag|SCG|name=FR Yugoslavia}} | MiZo Pecs (Hungary) |
| 2
| Edna Campbell (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Texas |
| 3
| Kate Starbird (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Stanford |
| 4
| Alisa Burras (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 5
| Sonja Henning (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Stanford |
| 6
| Sandy Brondello (G) | {{flagu|Australia}} | BTV Wuppertal (Germany) |
| 7
| Sophia Witherspoon (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Florida |
| 8
| Stephanie McCarthy (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Purdue |
| 9
| Nyree Roberts (C) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 10
| Angela Aycock (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | Kansas |
| 11
| Debbie Black (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 12
| Tari Phillips (C) | {{flagu|United States}} | Florida |
| 13
| Coquese Washington (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 14
| Sharon Manning (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 15
| Nina Bjedov (C) | {{flagu|SCG|name=FR Yugoslavia}} | Basket Bees Pavia (Italy) |
| 16
| Rita Williams (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 17
| Kara Wolters (C) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 18
| Toni Foster (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | Iowa |
| 19
| Lesley Brown (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | Virginia |
| 20
| Molly Goodenbour (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Stanford |
| 21
| Jamila Wideman (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Stanford |
| 22
| Yolanda Moore (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 23
| Charmin Smith (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Stanford |
| 24
| Chantel Tremitiere (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Auburn |
2006: Chicago Sky
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%" |
| width=50|Pick
!width=200|Player !width=100|Nationality !width=75|New WNBA Team !width=150|Former WNBA Team !width=100|College/Country/Team |
|---|
| 1
| Jia Perkins (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 2
| Brooke Wyckoff (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 3
| Elaine Powell (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | LSU |
| 4
| Kiesha Brown (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Georgia |
| 5
| Deanna Jackson (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 6
| Laura Macchi (F) | {{flagu|Italy}} | Pool Comense (Italy) |
| 7
| Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | Purdue |
| 8
| DeTrina White (F) | {{flagu|United States}} | LSU |
| 9
| Ashley Robinson (C) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 10
| Chelsea Newton (G) | {{flagu|United States}} | Rutgers |
| 11
| Bernadette Ngoyisa (C) | {{CGO}} | Congo |
| 12
| Francesca Zara (G) | {{flagu|Italy}} | Napoli Basket Vomero (Italy) |
| 13
| Stacey Dales-Schuman (G) | {{flagu|Canada}} | Oklahoma |
2008: Atlanta Dream
On February 6, 2008, an expansion draft occurred to help fill the roster for the Atlanta Dream, and the team also participated in the 2008 WNBA draft prior to the team's first season.{{cite web |title=Atlanta Dream Expansion Draft set for February 6 |url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/sky/news/Atlanta_Dream_Expansion_Draft.html |website=WNBA |date= |access-date=April 17, 2025}}
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%"
!width=50|Pick !width=200|Player !width=100|Nationality !width=75|New WNBA Team !width=150|Former WNBA Team !width=100|College/Country/Team |
| 1
| Carla Thomas (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 2
| Érika de Souza (F) | {{flagu|Brazil}} | Spain |
| 3
| Katie Feenstra (C) | {{flagu|United States}} | Liberty |
| 4
| Roneeka Hodges (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 5
| Ann Strother (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 6
| LaToya Thomas (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 7
| Kristen Mann (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 8
| Ann Wauters (C) | {{flagu|Belgium}} | Valenciennes Olympic (France) |
| 9
| Jennifer Lacy (F) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 10
| Kristin Haynie (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 11
| Chantelle Anderson (C) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 12
| Betty Lennox (G) | {{flagu|United States}} |
| 13
| Yelena Leuchanka (F) | {{flag|BLR|1995|name=Belarus}} |
Source:[http://www.wnba.com/dream/expansiondraft_080206.html WNBA.com: Atlanta Dream]
2024: Golden State Valkyries
On December 6, 2024 an expansion draft occurred to help fill the roster for the expansion Golden State Valkyries and the team also participated in the 2025 WNBA draft prior to the team's first season in 2025.{{Cite news |last=Ingemi |first=Marisa |title=What's next for Golden State WNBA team? Timeline for name, GM, coach, roster |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/what-s-next-golden-state-wnba-team-timeline-18640134.php |access-date=2024-05-15 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}}
The WNBA announced on September 30, 2024 that the expansion draft would be held on December 6 and televised by ESPN, and also announced the draft rules. Each existing WNBA team had to provide the league office with a list of all players to which it held contract rights as of the final day of the 2024 regular season; the submission deadline was not determined, but was expected to be about 10 days before the draft. Each team also had to designate no more than six players who would not be eligible for selection. The Valkyries were allowed to select one available player from each of the 12 previously existing teams. Only one player eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024 season could be chosen, and that player could not have played under a "core player" contract for two or more seasons. The Valkyries were allowed to make trades prior to the expansion draft, including agreements to (1) select a given player and trade that player to another team or (2) select or not select an available player from a given team.{{cite press release |url=https://www.wnba.com/news/golden-state-valkyries-expansion-draft |title=Expansion Draft for 13th WNBA Franchise, Golden State Valkyries Set for December 6 on ESPN |publisher=WNBA |date=September 30, 2024 |access-date=September 30, 2024}}
| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:80%"
!width=50|Pick !width=200|Player !width=100|Nationality !width=75|New WNBA Team !width=150|Former WNBA Team !width=100|College/Country/Team |
| 1
| {{sortname|Iliana|Rupert}} (C) | {{flag|France}} | rowspan=12| Golden State Valkyries | France |
| 2
| {{sortname|María|Conde}} (F) | {{flag|Spain}} |
| 3
| {{sortname|Veronica|Burton|dab=basketball}} (G) | {{flag|United States}} |
| 4
| {{sortname|Carla|Leite}} (G) | {{flag|France}} | France |
| 5
| {{sortname|Temi|Fagbenle}} (C) | {{flag|Great Britain}} | USC |
| 6
| {{sortname|Kate|Martin}} (G) | {{flag|United States}} | Iowa |
| 7
| {{sortname|Stephanie|Talbot}} (F) | {{flag|Australia}} | Australia |
| 8
| {{sortname|Cecilia|Zandalasini}} (F) | {{flag|Italy}} | Italy |
| 9
| {{sortname|Kayla|Thornton}} (F) | {{flag|United States}} | UTEP |
| 10
| {{sortname|Monique|Billings}} (F) | {{flag|United States}} | UCLA |
| 11
| No selection | — | — |
| 12
| {{sortname|Julie|Vanloo}} (G) | {{flag|Belgium}} | Belgium |
Source:{{cite news |first1=Cydney |last1=Henderson |first2=Ellen J. |last2=Horrow |title=WNBA expansion draft live updates: Golden State Valkyries pick their players for 2025 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2024/12/06/wnba-expansion-draft-golden-state-valkyries-roster-updates/76809659007/ |work=USA Today |date=December 6, 2024 |access-date=December 6, 2024 |language=en}}
2025 or 2026: Toronto Tempo, Portland WNBA team
Some time following the 2025 season an expansion draft will occur that will help fill the roster for the Toronto Tempo and the currently unnamed expansion Portland WNBA team, both of which are scheduled to begin play in the 2026 season. The details and rules for this draft are currently unknown.
Future expansion
{{Main|Timeline of the WNBA#Potential future expansion}}
During a press conference in October 2024 WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert stated that the league seeks to have a 16th team installed by the 2028 WNBA season.{{Cite web |last=Salao |first=Colin |date=2024-10-15 |title=WNBA Eyes 16th Team by 2028: Engelbert Evaluates Candidates |url=https://frontofficesports.com/wnba-eyes-16th-team-by-2028-engelbert-evaluates-candidates/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=Front Office Sports |language=en}} According to Sports Business Journal bids from Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Austin, Kansas City, Orlando, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver, Cleveland as well as multiple bids for Miami are expected for the next expansion team.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-23 |title=Growing list of investors target WNBA expansion franchise |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/09/23/wnba-expansion |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=www.sportsbusinessjournal.com |language=en}}