2010 WNBA draft
| 2010 WNBA draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | December 14, 2009 – April 8, 2010 |
| Location | Secaucus, New Jersey |
| Networks | ESPN2, NBATV, ESPNU |
| Overview | |
| League | WNBA |
| Merging teams | Sacramento Monarchs (folded in 2009) |
| First selection | Tina Charles Connecticut Sun |
The 2010 WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 8, 2010. The first round was shown on ESPN2 (HD), while the second and third rounds were shown on NBA TV and ESPNU.
A lottery was held on November 5, 2009. The Minnesota Lynx received the first overall selection of the draft. The Sacramento Monarchs received the number two selection. The Connecticut Sun came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Minnesota Lynx again at four, and the Chicago Sky at number five.
Additionally, on December 14, 2009, the WNBA held a dispersal draft to re-assign players from the Sacramento Monarchs who folded at the end of 2009 WNBA season.[1] Since the Monarchs folded after the draft lottery took place, their pick was simply eliminated.
Draft lottery
The lottery selection to determine the order of the top five picks in the 2010 Draft occurred on November 5, 2009, the Minnesota Lynx won the first pick, while the Sacramento Monarchs and Connecticut Sun were awarded the second and third picks respectively.[2] The remaining first-round picks and all the second- and third-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss records in the previous season.[2]
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2010 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places[a]:
| Team | 2009 record | Lottery chances | Pick | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |||
| Sacramento Monarchs[b] | 12–22 | 420 | .420 | .302 | .181 | .097 | .000 |
| Minnesota Lynx (from New York via Los Angeles)[c] | 13–21 | 261 | .261 | .284 | .246 | .200 | .008 |
| Minnesota Lynx | 14–20 | 167 | .167 | .207 | .263 | .315 | .048 |
| Connecticut Sun | 16–18 | 78 | .076 | .103 | .155 | .388 | .278 |
| Chicago Sky | 16–18 | 78 | .076 | .103 | .155 | .000 | .666 |
- ^ Notes:
- Team selected for the No. 1 pick noted in bold text
- Shaded block denotes actual lottery result
- ^ Sacramento Monarchs folded in December 2009, so their No. 2 pick was removed and the subsequent draft picks moved one place up.
- ^ May 5, 2009: Three-team trade among Los Angeles, Minnesota, and New York[3]
- Los Angeles acquired Noelle Quinn (from Minnesota) and a 2010 first-round pick (from New York)
- New York acquired Sidney Spencer (from Los Angeles)
- Minnesota acquired exclusive negotiating rights for Raffaella Masciadri and New York's 2010 first-round pick (from Los Angeles)
Transactions
- January 30, 2009: The Washington Mystics receive the second-round pick from the Minnesota Lynx as part of the Lindsey Harding transaction.
- March 26, 2009: The Los Angeles Sparks receive the first-round pick from the Phoenix Mercury as part of the Temeka Johnson transaction.
- May 5, 2009: The Minnesota Lynx receive the first-round pick from the New York Liberty (via L.A.) as part of the Sidney Spencer/Noelle Quinn transaction.
- November 20, 2009: The league announces the folding of the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs' picks in the draft were simply eliminated.
- January 12, 2010: The Connecticut Sun receive the first overall pick in exchange for the second overall pick from the Minnesota Lynx as part of the Lindsay Whalen/Renee Montgomery transaction.
Source[4]
Key
| ! | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame |
| * | 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 |
| # | Denotes player who never played in the WNBA regular season or playoffs |
| Bold | Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year |
Draft
Round 1
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tina Charles * |  United States | Connecticut Sun (from New York via Los Angeles and Minnesota) | Connecticut |
| 2 | Monica Wright | Minnesota Lynx (from Connedcticut) | Virginia | |
| 3 | Kelsey Griffin (traded to Connecticut) | Minnesota Lynx | Nebraska | |
| 4 | Epiphanny Prince * | Chicago Sky | Rutgers/Turkey | |
| 5 | Jayne Appel | San Antonio Silver Stars | Stanford | |
| 6 | Jacinta Monroe | Washington Mystics | Florida State | |
| 7 | Danielle McCray | Connecticut Sun from Tulsa) | Kansas | |
| 8 | Andrea Riley | Los Angeles Sparks | Oklahoma State | |
| 9 | Chanel Mokango |  DR Congo | Atlanta Dream | Mississippi State |
| 10 | Alison Lacey | .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png){kind=small} Australia | Seattle Storm | Iowa State |
| 11 | Jené Morris | United States | Indiana Fever | San Diego State |
| 12 | Bianca Thomas # | Los Angeles Sparks (from Phoenix) | Ole Miss |
Round 2
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Kalana Greene | United States | New York Liberty | Connecticut |
| 14 | Jenna Smith # | Washington Mystics (from Minnesota) | Illinois | |
| 15 | Allison Hightower + | Connecticut Sun | LSU | |
| 16 | Ashley Houts | New York Liberty (from Chicago) | Georgia | |
| 17 | Alysha Clark |  Israel / United States | San Antonio Silver Stars | Middle Tennessee |
| 18 | Shanavia Dowdell # | United States | Washington Mystics | Louisiana Tech |
| 19 | Amanda Thompson | Tulsa Shock | Oklahoma | |
| 20 | Angel Robinson | Los Angeles Sparks | Georgia | |
| 21 | Brigitte Ardossi # | Australia | Atlanta Dream | Georgia Tech |
| 22 | Tanisha Smith # | United States | Seattle Storm | Texas A&M |
| 23 | Armelie Lumanu # | DR Congo | Indiana Fever | Mississippi State |
| 24 | Tyra Grant # | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Penn State |
Round 3
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Cory Montgomery # | United States | New York Liberty | Nebraska |
| 26 | Gabriela Marginean |  Romania | Minnesota Lynx | Drexel |
| 27 | Johannah Leedham # |  Great Britain | Connecticut Sun | Franklin Pierce |
| 28 | Abi Olajuwon | United States | Chicago Sky | Oklahoma |
| 29 | Alexis Rack # | San Antonio Silver Stars | Mississippi State | |
| 30 | Alexis Gray-Lawson | Washington Mystics | California | |
| 31 | Vivian Frieson # | Tulsa Shock | Gonzaga | |
| 32 | Rashidat Junaid # | Los Angeles Sparks | Rutgers | |
| 33 | Brittainey Raven | Atlanta Dream | Texas | |
| 34 | Tijana Krivačević # |  Serbia /  Hungary | Seattle Storm | MKB Euroleasing Sopron (Hungary) |
| 35 | Joy Cheek | United States | Indiana Fever | Duke |
| 36 | Nyeshia Stevenson # | Phoenix Mercury | Oklahoma |
See also
References
- ^ "Sacramento Monarchs Dispersal Draft Analysis". WNBA. December 14, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ a b "Minnesota Lynx Win Top Pick in 2010 WNBA Draft". WNBA. November 9, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
- ^ "Sparks Acquire L.A. Native Noelle Quinn". WNBA. May 5, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
- ^ "2009 WNBA Transactions". wnba.com.
- "All-Time WNBA draft history". WNBA. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008.
External links
- 2010 WNBA Draft Board
