2020 WNBA draft

Draft of incoming WNBA players for the 2020 season

The 2020 WNBA draft was the league's draft for the 2020 WNBA season. A draft lottery was held on September 17, 2019 and the New York Liberty were awarded the first overall pick in the draft.^[1][2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the draft was held virtually without players, guests, and the media on-site. The draft was televised as planned;^[3] it was the most-watched WNBA draft in 16 years and the second most-watched in ESPN's history.^[4]

Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2020 draft took place during halftime of the Connecticut Sun's semifinal game against the Los Angeles Sparks on September 17, 2019 and was televised on ESPN2. Four non-playoff teams qualified for the lottery drawing: Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, New York Liberty, and Atlanta Dream.^[1]

Lottery chances

The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2018 and 2019 WNBA seasons. In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1–14 are placed in a lottery machine and mixed. Four balls are drawn to determine a four-digit combination (only 11–12–13–14 is ignored & redrawn). The team assigned that four-ball combination receives the No. 1 pick. The four balls are then placed back into the machine and the process is repeated to determine the second pick. The two teams whose numerical combinations do not come up in the lottery will select in the inverse order of their two-year cumulative record. Ernst & Young knows the discreet results before they're announced.^[1]

The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third rounds is determined by inverse order of the teams' respective regular-season records solely from 2019.^[1]

The lottery was won by the New York Liberty, who had the best chance to win the lottery. The Dallas Wings were awarded the second pick, followed by the Indiana Fever and finally the Atlanta Dream.^[2]

Eligibility

Under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the WNBA and its players union, draft eligibility for players not defined as "international" requires the following to be true:^[5]

• The player's 22nd birthday falls during the calendar year of the draft. For this draft, the cutoff birth date is December 31, 1998.
• She has either:
  • completed her college eligibility;
  • received a bachelor's degree, or is scheduled to receive such in the 3 months following the draft; or
  • is at least 4 years removed from high school graduation.

A player who is scheduled to receive her bachelor's degree within 3 months of the draft date, and is younger than the cutoff age, is only eligible if the calendar year of the draft is no earlier than the fourth after her high school graduation.

Players with remaining college eligibility who meet the cutoff age must notify the WNBA headquarters of their intent to enter the draft no later than 10 days before the draft date, and must renounce any remaining college eligibility to do so. A separate notification timetable is provided for players involved in postseason tournaments (most notably the NCAA Division I tournament); those players must declare for the draft within 24 hours of their final game. The latter timetable proved to be moot due to the coronavirus-induced cancellation of the 2020 NCAA tournament.

"International players" are defined as those for whom all of the following is true:

• Born and currently residing outside the U.S.
• Never "exercised intercollegiate basketball eligibility" in the U.S.

For "international players", the eligibility age is 20, also measured on December 31 of the year of the draft.

Three players with remaining college eligibility, all of whom were juniors in the 2019–20 college season, declared for the draft. All three were drafted in the first round:

• Satou Sabally of Oregon announced on February 20 that she would enter the draft upon the end of Oregon's 2019–20 season. Although a German citizen, she falls under the rules for U.S. players not only because of playing at Oregon, but also via her birth in New York City.^[6]
• Megan Walker of UConn declared on March 14, after the cancellation of the NCAA tournament.^[7]
• Chennedy Carter of Texas A&M declared on March 29.^[8]

Draft

Honorary picks

The WNBA honored Alyssa Altobelli, Payton Chester, and Gianna Bryant, daughter of Hall of Fame basketball player Kobe Bryant, who all died in the 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash, with honorary draft picks.^[9]

First round

Second round

Third round

Footnotes

1. February 12, 2020: Phoenix to Dallas^[10]
   • Dallas acquired the fifth and seventh picks and a future first-round pick
   • Phoenix acquired Skylar Diggins-Smith
2. February 10, 2020: Connecticut to Seattle^[11]
   • Connecticut acquired the seventh pick
   • Seattle acquired the 11th pick and Morgan Tuck
3. February 11, 2020: Connecticut to Phoenix^[12]
   • Phoenix acquired the seventh and tenth picks and a 2021 first-round pick
   • Connecticut acquired DeWanna Bonner
4. May 16, 2019: Las Vegas to Dallas^[13]
   • Dallas acquired the ninth and 21st picks, Moriah Jefferson, and Isabelle Harrison
   • Las Vegas acquired Liz Cambage
5. April 15, 2020: Three-team trade^[14]
   • New York acquired the 12th pick; Shatori Walker-Kimbrough; and 2021 first, second, and third-round picks from Washington; Las Vegas's first-round pick (ninth overall), the 15th pick, and Tayler Hill from Dallas
   • Washington acquired Tina Charles from New York
   • Dallas acquired Washington's 2021 first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick from New York
6. April 27, 2019: Los Angeles to Connecticut^[15]
   • Connecticut acquired the tenth pick
   • Los Angeles acquired Chiney Ogwumike
7. April 11, 2019: Atlanta to New York (three-team trade with Las Vegas)^[16]
   • New York acquired the 13th pick from Atlanta
   • Atlanta acquired Nia Coffey from Las Vegas
   • Las Vegas acquired Sugar Rodgers from New York
8. April 11, 2019: New York to Minnesota^[17]
   • Minnesota acquired the 14th pick
   • New York acquired Tanisha Wright
9. March 6, 2020: Minnesota to Indiana^[18]
   • Indiana acquired the 14th pick and a 2021 second-round pick
   • Minnesota acquired Shenise Johnson and the 16th pick
10. February 19, 2020: Phoenix to Atlanta (three-team trade with Connecticut)^[19]
    • Atlanta acquired the 17th pick from Phoenix and Courtney Williams from Connecticut
    • Phoenix acquired Jessica Breland and Nia Coffey from Atlanta
    • Connecticut acquired Briann January and a 2021 second-round pick from Phoenix
11. May 21, 2019: Minnesota to Phoenix^[20]
    • Phoenix acquired the 18th pick
    • Minnesota acquired Stephanie Talbot
12. May 20, 2019: Chicago to Los Angeles^[21]
    • Los Angeles acquired the 20th pick
    • Chicago acquired Jantel Lavender
13. May 16, 2019: Dallas to Atlanta^[22]
    • Atltanta acquired the 27th pick
    • Dallas acquired Imani McGee-Stafford
14. May 21, 2019: Minnesota to Chicago^[23]
    • Chicago acquired the 30th pick
    • Minnesota acquired Alaina Coates

See also

• List of first overall WNBA draft picks

References

1. "WNBA Draft Lottery Presented By State Farm To Take Place on Sept. 17 on ESPN2". wnba.com. September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
2. "New York Liberty Win Top Pick In WNBA Draft 2020 Presented By State Farm®". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
3. "WNBA Draft 2020 Presented By State Farm To Be Held As Scheduled On April 17". wnba.com. WNBA. March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
4. "WNBA Delivers Most-Watched Draft in 16 Years". wnba.com. WNBA. April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
5. "Article XIII, Section 1: Player Eligibility" (PDF). 2020 Women's National Basketball Association Collective Bargaining Agreement. Women's National Basketball Players Association. pp. 110–111. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
6. Rowe, Holly (February 20, 2020). "Oregon junior Satou Sabally to enter WNBA draft after season". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
7. "UConn's Walker to forgo senior year, enter WNBA draft". Yahoo Sports. Associated Press. March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
8. Voepel, Mechelle (March 29, 2020). "Texas A&M star Chennedy Carter declares for WNBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
9. "Gianna Bryant, Alyssa Altobelli, Payton Chester selected as honorary picks at WNBA draft". ESPN.com. 17 April 2020.
10. "Four-time WNBA All-Star Acquired by Phoenix in Sign and Trade Deal". wnba.com. WNBA. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
11. "Seattle Completes Trade With Connecticut, Acquires Morgan Tuck". wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
12. Metcalfe, Jeff (February 11, 2020). "Phoenix Mercury All-Star DeWanna Bonner traded to Connecticut Sun". azcentral.com. Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
13. "Wings trade MVP runner-up Cambage to Aces". espn.com. ESPN. May 16, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
14. "Washington Mystics Acquire 7x All-Star Tina Charles in Three-Team Deal". wnba.com. WNBA. April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
15. "Sparks Acquire 2014 No. 1 Overall Pick Chiney Ogwumike". wnba.com. WNBA. April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
16. "Atlanta Dream Acquire Nia Coffey in Trade". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
17. "Liberty Acquires Guard Tanisha Wright in Exchange for 2020 Second Round Pick". liberty.wnba.com. WNBA. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
18. "Fever Acquire Draft Picks in Trade with Minnesota". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
19. Weinfuss, Josh (February 19, 2020). "Mercury acquire Jessica Breland in 3-team deal with Dream, Sun". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
20. "Mercury Acquire 2020 Second-Round Pick From Minnesota". wnba.com. WNBA. May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
21. "Los Angeles Sparks Trade Jantel Lavender To Chicago Sky". wnba.com. WNBA. May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
22. "Dream trade center Imani McGee-Stafford to Dallas". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. May 16, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
23. "Sky Acquire 2020 Third-Round Pick From Minnesota Lynx". wnba.com. WNBA. May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.