1997 WNBA draft
| 1997 WNBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | April 28, 1997 |
| Overview | |
| League | WNBA |
| First selection | Tina Thompson Houston Comets |
The 1997 WNBA draft was the 1st draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three different stages in which teams built their rosters. First on January 22, 1997, the Initial Player Allocation draft took place in which 16 players were assigned to each team in no particular order. The elite draft portion comprised professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. On February 27, 1997, an elite draft added two more players to each team. On April 28, 1997, the four rounds of the regular WNBA draft took place. Draftees Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson would become the core pieces of the Houston Comets dynasty. Racquel Spurlock (3rd Round, 17th overall pick) is the only player selected in this draft that ended up never playing a game in the WNBA.
Initial player allocation
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Note: 16 players assigned in no particular order.
Elite draft
The elite draft portion was composed of professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. It was the first time where the teams could draft the players out of a talent pool.
Round 1
Round 2
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Wendy Palmer * | F | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | Utah Starzz | Virginia |
| 10 | Lynette Woodard | G | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | Cleveland Rockers | Kansas |
| 11 | Michi Atkins | F | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | Charlotte Sting | Texas Tech |
| 12 | Vickie Johnson ^ | F | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | New York Liberty | Louisiana Tech |
| 13 | Janeth Arcain * | F | File:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil | Houston Comets | Polti (Brazil) |
| 14 | Mikiko Hagiwara | G | File:Flag of Japan.svg Japan | Sacramento Monarchs | Japan Energy Griffins (Japan) |
| 15 | Nancy Lieberman-Cline | G | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | Phoenix Mercury | Old Dominion |
| 16 | Zheng Haixia | C | File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China | Los Angeles Sparks | China |
College draft
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1997 WNBA draft but played at least one game for the WNBA.
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See also
References
- ↑ "Jenny Boucek Player File". wnba.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Rushia Brown Player File: Rockers". wnba.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Linda Burgess Player File: Monarchs". wnba.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Comets Player File: Pietra Gay". www.wnba.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 1998. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Sparks Player File: Kim Gessig". www.wnba.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- "All-Time WNBA Draft List". WNBA. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- "WNBA Elite Draft". WNBA. Archived from the original on April 16, 1997. Retrieved August 6, 2016.