The 2019 WNBA draft was the
league's draft for the
2019 WNBA season. On March 19, the league announced the draft would be held on April 10 at
Nike New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
headquarters. The first round was televised on
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially ...
, and the second and third rounds were televised on
ESPNU
ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the He ...
.
On August 28, 2018, the league held the draft lottery between the four non-playoff teams –
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
, and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. The Aces won the top pick for the third year in a row.
For just the second time, all five players of one school's starting lineup was drafted, when Notre Dame's starting five were selected in the first 20 picks.
Draft lottery
The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2019 draft took place on August 28, 2018 during halftime of the
2018 WNBA Playoffs game between the
Atlanta Dream and
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference ...
.
Lottery chances
All odds out of 1,000 based on percentages. (The 11-12-13-14 combination is ignored.)
*
Indiana Fever
The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...
(44.2%)
*
Las Vegas Aces (27.6%) - WON
*
Chicago Sky (17.8%)
*
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was ...
(10.4%)
The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2017 and 2018 WNBA seasons. The Aces won the Draft Lottery for the third year in a row, previously selecting
Kelsey Plum
Kelsey Christine Plum (born August 24, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She won a WNBA championship in 2022, when she earned her first All-WNBA F ...
in 2017 and
A'ja Wilson in 2018. Plum was selected when the team was still located in San Antonio.
The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third round was in inverse order of the teams’ respective regular-season records solely from 2018.
Draft invitees
On April 9, 2019, one day before the Draft, the WNBA released the names of the players who would be invited to be in attendance at the draft.
*
Kristine Anigwe, California
*
Kalani Brown, Baylor
*
Napheesa Collier, UConn
*
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
*
Asia Durr, Louisville
*
Megan Gustafson, Iowa
*
Han Xu, Xinjiang Magic Deer,
China
*
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
*
Arike Ogunbowale
Arike Ogunbowale (born March 2, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, before being drafted ...
, Notre Dame
*
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn
*
Alanna Smith, Stanford
*
Jackie Young
Jacquelyn Young (born September 16, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2019 WNBA draft. ...
, Notre Dame
Three of these players were not chosen until the second round, with Cunningham, Han, and Gustafson respectively chosen 13th, 14th, and 17th overall.
Key
Draft selections
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Draft-day trades
Draft-day trades occurred on April 10, 2019, the day of the draft.
* The Atlanta Dream traded
Brianna Turner (Notre Dame) for
Marie Gülich (from Phoenix Mercury).
* The Minnesota Lynx traded
Natisha Hiedeman (Marquette) for
Lexie Brown (from Connecticut Sun).
Footnotes
References
{{2019 WNBA Draft
Women's National Basketball Association Draft
Draft
WNBA draft
WNBA draft
Basketball in New York City