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.

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 →

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

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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.

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

Expansion draft

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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

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* 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

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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

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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

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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

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References

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