2008 WNBA draft

2008 WNBA draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)April 9, 2008
LocationTampa, Florida
Network(s)ESPN2, NBATV, ESPNU
Overview
LeagueWNBA
First selectionCandace Parker
Los Angeles Sparks
← 2007
2009 →

The WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which Women's National Basketball Association teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The 2008 draft was held on April 9.

A lottery was held on October 23, 2007. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first overall selection of the upcoming 2008 draft. The Chicago Sky received the number two selection. The Minnesota Lynx came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Atlanta Dream expansion franchise at four, the Houston Comets at number five, and the Washington Mystics at number six. Some of the top draftees were Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Candice Wiggins, Crystal Langhorne, and Tasha Humphrey.

Top pick Candace Parker went on to become the first WNBA player to be the league's Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Fourth pick Alexis Hornbuckle became the first person to win a national championship in college (with the University of Tennessee) and a WNBA title (with the Detroit Shock) in the same calendar year.

Transactions

The Detroit Shock holds the eleventh pick in round one as part of the Katie Feenstra/Ruth Riley trade back in February 2007.

The San Antonio Silver Stars holds the twenty-first pick as part of 2007 WNBA draft trade with the New York Liberty that involved Becky Hammon.

Key

+ Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game
Bold Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year

Expansion draft

Pick Player Nationality New team Former team
1 Carla Thomas  United States Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky
2 Érika de Souza +  Brazil Atlanta Dream Connecticut Sun
3 Katie Feenstra  United States Atlanta Dream Detroit Shock
4 Roneeka Hodges  United States Atlanta Dream Houston Comets
5 Ann Strother  United States Atlanta Dream Indiana Fever
6 LaToya Thomas  United States Atlanta Dream Los Angeles Sparks
7 Kristen Mann  United States Atlanta Dream Minnesota Lynx
8 Ann Wauters  Belgium Atlanta Dream New York Liberty
9 Jennifer Lacy  United States Atlanta Dream Phoenix Mercury
10 Kristin Haynie  United States Atlanta Dream Sacramento Monarchs
11 Chantelle Anderson  United States Atlanta Dream San Antonio Silver Stars
12 Betty Lennox  United States Atlanta Dream Seattle Storm
13 Yelena Leuchanka  Belarus Atlanta Dream Washington Mystics

College Draft

* Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-WNBA Team
+ Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game
Bold Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year

Round 1

Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
1 Candace Parker *  United States Los Angeles Sparks Tennessee
2 Sylvia Fowles *  United States Chicago Sky LSU
3 Candice Wiggins  United States Minnesota Lynx Stanford
4 Alexis Hornbuckle  United States Detroit Shock (from Atl., via Sea.) Tennessee
5 Matee Ajavon  United States Houston Comets Rutgers
6 Crystal Langhorne *  United States Washington Mystics Maryland
7 Essence Carson +  United States New York Liberty Rutgers
8 Tamera Young  United States Atlanta Dream (from Sea.) James Madison
9 Amber Holt  United States Connecticut Sun Middle Tennessee
10 Laura Harper  United States Sacramento Monarchs Maryland
11 Tasha Humphrey  United States Detroit Shock (from S.A.) Georgia
12 Ketia Swanier  United States Connecticut Sun (from Ind.) Connecticut
13 LaToya Pringle  United States Phoenix Mercury North Carolina
14 Erlana Larkins  United States New York Liberty (from Det.) North Carolina

Round 2

Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
15 Shannon Bobbitt  United States Los Angeles Sparks Tennessee
16 Nicky Anosike +  United States Minnesota Lynx Tennessee
17 Erica White  United States Houston Comets LSU
18 Olayinka Sanni  Nigeria Detroit Shock (from Atl.) West Virginia
19 Quianna Chaney  United States Chicago Sky LSU
20 Lindsey Pluimer  United States Washington Mystics UCLA
21 Chioma Nnamaka  Sweden San Antonio Silver Stars (from N.Y.) Georgia Tech
22 Allie Quigley +  United States Seattle Storm DePaul
23 Jolene Anderson  United States Connecticut Sun Wisconsin
24 Morenike Atunrase  United States Atlanta Dream (from Ind.) Texas A&M
25 Leilani Mitchell  United States
 Australia 		Phoenix Mercury (from S.A.) Utah
26 Khadijah Whittington  United States Indiana Fever North Carolina State
27 Wanisha Smith  United States New York Liberty (from Phx.) Duke
28 Natasha Lacy  United States Detroit Shock UTEP

Round 3

Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
29 Sharnee Zoll  United States Los Angeles Sparks Virginia
30 Charde Houston +  United States Minnesota Lynx Connecticut
31 Crystal Kelly  United States Houston Comets Western Kentucky
32 Danielle Hood  United States Atlanta Dream Hartford
33 Angela Tisdale  United States Chicago Sky Baylor
34 Krystal Vaughn  United States Washington Mystics VCU
35 Alberta Auguste  United States New York Liberty Tennessee
36 Kimberly Beck  United States Seattle Storm George Washington
37 Lauren Ervin  United States Connecticut Sun Arkansas
38 A'Quonesia Franklin  United States Sacramento Monarchs Texas A&M
39 Alex Anderson  United States San Antonio Silver Stars Chattanooga
40 Izabela Piekarska  Poland Sacramento Monarchs (from Ind.) UTEP
41 Marscilla Packer  United States Phoenix Mercury Ohio State
42 Valeriya Berezhynska  Ukraine Detroit Shock Rice
43 Charel Allen  United States Sacramento Monarchs Notre Dame

See also

References

  • "All-Time WNBA draft history". WNBA. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.