2022 WNBA draft
# 2022 WNBA draft

The 2022 WNBA Draft, the WNBA's draft for the 2022 WNBA season, was held on April 11, 2022 in New York City and aired live on ESPN in the United States and on TSN1/4 in Canada at 7:00 p.m. EDT. The draft was the 27th in WNBA history.

## Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2022 draft took place on December 19, 2021 and was televised on ESPN in the United States and on TSN2 in Canada. The four non-playoff teams in 2021 qualified for the lottery drawing: Atlanta Dream, Indiana Fever, Washington Mystics, and the Los Angeles Sparks. With the Sparks having previously traded their 2022 first-round pick, their lottery pick belonged to the Dallas Wings at the time of the lottery. The Mystics won the lottery and had the first pick in the draft. This was the first time that the Mystics won the lottery in franchise history. The next three picks initially belonged to the Fever, Dream, and Wings. However, by the time of the draft, the only one of the top four picks that still belonged to the same team was that of the Fever. In March 2022, the Wings included their lottery pick in a larger trade with the Fever. Less than a week before the draft, the Mystics and Dream would swap their top-three picks, with the Mystics also sending the Dream a 2022 second-round pick and the rights to swap picks with the Sparks in 2023.

### Lottery chances

| Team | Combined 2020–2021 record | Lottery chances (out of 1,000) |
| - | - | - |
| Indiana Fever | 12–42 | 442 |
| Atlanta Dream | 15–39 | 276 |
| Washington Mystics | 21–33 | 178 |
| Los Angeles Sparks | 27–27 | 104 |

The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2020 and 2021 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 and redrawn). The team to which that four-ball combination is assigned 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 are announced.

The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third rounds was determined by inverse order of the teams' respective regular-season records solely from 2021.

## 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:

* The player's 22nd birthday falls during the calendar year of the draft. For this draft, the cutoff birth date is December 31, 2000.
* 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 (normally) must declare for the draft within 24 hours of their final game.

"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.

## Key

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

## Draft

### First round

| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Rhyne Howard $^+$ | United States | Atlanta Dream (from Washington) | Kentucky |
| 2 | NaLyssa Smith | United States | Indiana Fever | Baylor |
| 3 | Shakira Austin | United States | Washington Mystics (from Atlanta) | Ole Miss |
| 4 | Emily Engstler | United States | Indiana Fever (from Los Angeles via Dallas) | Louisville |
| 5 | Nyara Sabally | Germany | New York Liberty | Oregon |
| 6 | Lexie Hull | United States | Indiana Fever (from Dallas) | Stanford |
| 7 | Veronica Burton | United States | Dallas Wings (from Chicago via Dallas and Indiana) | Northwestern |
| 8 | Mya Hollingshed | Puerto Rico | Las Vegas Aces (from Minnesota via Phoenix, New York, and Seattle) | Colorado |
| 9 | Rae Burrell | United States | Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle) | Tennessee |
| 10 | Queen Egbo | United States | Indiana Fever (from Minnesota) | Baylor |
| 11 | Kierstan Bell | United States | Las Vegas Aces | Florida Gulf Coast |
| 12 | Nia Clouden | United States | Connecticut Sun | Michigan State |

### Second round

| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 13 | Khayla Pointer | United States | Las Vegas Aces (from Minnesota via Indiana) | LSU |
| 14 | Christyn Williams | United States | Washington Mystics (from Atlanta) | UConn |
| 15 | Naz Hillmon | United States | Atlanta Dream (from Los Angeles) | Michigan |
| 16 | Kianna Smith | United States | Los Angeles Sparks (from Washington) | Louisville |
| 17 | Elissa Cunane | United States | Seattle Storm (from New York) | NC State |
| 18 | Lorela Cubaj | Italy | Seattle Storm (from Dallas) | Georgia Tech |
| 19 | Olivia Nelson-Ododa | United States | Los Angeles Sparks (from Chicago via Dallas) | UConn |
| 20 | Destanni Henderson | United States | Indiana Fever (from Phoenix) | South Carolina |
| 21 | Evina Westbrook | United States | Seattle Storm | UConn |
| 22 | Kayla Jones | United States | Minnesota Lynx | NC State |
| 23 | Aisha Sheppard | United States | Las Vegas Aces | Virginia Tech |
| 24 | Jordan Lewis | United States | Connecticut Sun | Baylor |

### Third round

| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 25 | Ameshya Williams-Holliday | United States | Indiana Fever | Jackson State |
| 26 | Maya Dodson | United States | Phoenix Mercury (from Atlanta) | Notre Dame |
| 27 | Amy Atwell | Australia | Los Angeles Sparks | Hawaii |
| 28 | Hannah Sjerven | United States | Minnesota Lynx (from Washington) | South Dakota |
| 29 | Sika Koné | Mali | New York Liberty | CB Islas Canarias (Spain) |
| 30 | Jasmine Dickey | United States | Dallas Wings | Delaware |
| 31 | Jazz Bond | United States | Dallas Wings (from Chicago) | North Florida |
| 32 | Macee Williams | United States | Phoenix Mercury | IUPUI |
| 33 | Jade Melbourne | Australia | Seattle Storm | Canberra Capitals (Australia) |
| 34 | Ali Patberg | United States | Indiana Fever (from Minnesota) | Indiana |
| 35 | Faustine Aifuwa | United States | Las Vegas Aces | LSU |
| 36 | Kiara Smith | United States | Connecticut Sun | Florida |

## Footnotes

* 1 2 3 April 6, 2022: Washington to Atlanta Atlanta acquired a 2022 first-round pick (1st overall) Washington acquired 2022 first-round and second-round picks (3rd and 14th overall), and the right to swap picks with Los Angeles in 2023
* 1 2 3 March 8, 2022: Dallas to Indiana Dallas acquired Teaira McCowan, a 2022 first-round pick, and Chicago's 2023 first-round pick Indiana acquired 2022 first-round picks and a 2023 first-round pick
* ↑ April 14, 2021: Los Angeles to Dallas Los Angeles acquired 2021 first-round and 2022 second-round picks Dallas acquired a 2022 first-round pick
* 1 2 June 2, 2021: Dallas to Chicago Chicago acquired Dana Evans and a 2022 first-round pick Dallas acquired Shyla Heal, 2022 first- and third-round picks
* ↑ February 3, 2022: Chicago to Indiana (three-team trade with Phoenix) Chicago acquired Julie Allemand and 2023 first-round pick from Indiana Indiana acquired Bria Hartley, 2022 first-round pick from Chicago, 2022 and 2023 second-round picks from Phoenix Phoenix acquired Diamond DeShields
* 1 2 April 10, 2022: Minnesota to Las Vegas Minnesota acquired Vegas's 1st and 2nd Round Picks in 2023 Las Vegas acquired the 8th and 13th Picks in 2022
* ↑ February 10, 2021: Phoenix to New York Phoenix acquired Kia Nurse and Megan Walker New York acquired 2021 and 2022 first-round picks
* 1 2 February 10, 2021: New York to Seattle New York acquired Natasha Howard Seattle acquired 2021 first-round and 2022 second-round picks, and Phoenix's 2022 first-round pick
* ↑ February 11, 2021: Seattle to Minnesota Seattle acquired Mikiah Herbert Harrigan Minnesota acquired Phoenix's 2022 first-round pick
* ↑ February 3, 2022: Seattle to Los Angeles Seattle acquired Gabby Williams Los Angeles acquired Katie Lou Samuelson, 2022 first-round pick
* 1 2 February 15, 2021: Minnesota to Indiana Minnesota acquired Indiana's 2022 second-round pick Indiana acquired Odyssey Sims, Temi Fagbenle, Minnesota's 2022 first- and third-round picks
* ↑ February 5, 2022: Los Angeles to Atlanta Atlanta acquired Erica Wheeler, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick Los Angeles acquired Chennedy Carter and the rights to Li Yueru
* ↑ May 13, 2021: Washington to Los Angeles Washington acquired Sydney Wiese Los Angeles acquired Washington's 2022 second-round pick
* ↑ February 10, 2021: Seattle to Dallas Seattle acquired Katie Lou Samuelson and a 2022 second-round pick Dallas acquired New York's 2021 first-round pick
* ↑ February 9, 2021: Chicago to Dallas Chicago acquired a 2021 second-round pick Dallas acquired Chicago's 2022 second-round pick
* ↑ April 14, 2021: Dallas to Los Angeles Dallas acquired a 2022 first-round pick Los Angeles acquired 2021 first-round and 2022 second-round picks
* ↑ February 3, 2022: Phoenix to Indiana (three-team trade with Chicago) → see Chicago to Indiana (note D)
* ↑ February 13, 2021: Phoenix to Atlanta Phoenix acquired a 2022 third-round pick Atlanta acquired Yvonne Turner
* ↑ February 5, 2021: Minnesota to Washington Minnesota acquired a 2022 third-round pick Washington acquired Erica McCall
