View source for 1997 WNBA draft

{{Short description|First player selection draft in league history}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| name        = 1997 WNBA draft
| image       = 
| caption     = 
| logo        = 
| logosize    = 
| sport       = Basketball
| date        = April 28, 1997
| location    = 
| network     = 
| league      = WNBA
| teams       = 
| first       = [[Tina Thompson]]<br />[[Houston Comets]]
| territorial = 
| prev        = [[WNBA elite draft|1997 elite draft]]
| next        = [[1998 WNBA draft|1998]]
}}
The '''1997 WNBA draft''' was the 1st [[draft (sports)|draft]] held by the [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA]] through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and [[List of WNBA players|professional women's basketball players]]. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three different stages in which teams built their rosters.

First on January 22, 1997, the Initial Player Allocation draft took place in which 16 players were assigned to each team in no particular order.

The elite draft portion comprised professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. On February 27, 1997, an [[WNBA elite draft|elite draft]] added two more players to each team.

On April 28, 1997, the four rounds of the regular WNBA draft took place.

Draftees [[Cynthia Cooper (basketball)|Cynthia Cooper]], [[Sheryl Swoopes]], and [[Tina Thompson]] would become the core pieces of the [[Houston Comets]] dynasty.

Racquel Spurlock (3rd Round, 17th overall pick) is the only player selected in this draft that ended up never playing a game in the WNBA.

==Initial player allocation==
{{WNBA Draft legend|1=y|2=y|3=y|4=y|5=y|6=y|7=y}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sortable"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Count
! style="width:16%;"| Player
! style="width:1%;"| Position
! style="width:16%;"| Nationality
! style="width:30%;"| Team
! style="width:30%;"| School / club team
|-
| 1
|bgcolor=#FFFF99|{{sortname|Vicky|Bullett}} <sup>+</sup> ^
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[Maryland Terrapins women's basketball|Maryland]]
|-
| 2
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"|{{sortname|Andrea|Stinson}} *
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[NC State Wolfpack women's basketball|NC State]]
|-
| 3
|bgcolor=#FFFF99| {{sortname|Janice Lawrence|Braxton}} ^ 
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball|Louisiana Tech]]
|-
| 4
|bgcolor=#FFFF99| {{sortname|Michelle|Edwards|dab=basketball}} ^
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball|Iowa]]
|-
| 5
| bgcolor=#98f5ff|{{sortname|Sheryl|Swoopes}} * ^ !
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| [[Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball|Texas Tech]]
|-
| 6
| bgcolor=#98f5ff|{{sortname|Cynthia|Cooper|link=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke}} * ^ !
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]]
|-
| 7
| bgcolor=#98f5ff|{{sortname|Lisa|Leslie}} * ^ !
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]]
|-
| 8
| {{sortname|Penny|Toler}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Long Beach State 49ers|Long Beach State]]
|-
| 9
|bgcolor=#98f5ff|{{sortname|Rebecca|Lobo}} <sup>+</sup> ^ !
| C/F
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Connecticut Huskies women's basketball|Connecticut]]
|-
| 10
| bgcolor=#98f5ff|{{sortname|Teresa|Weatherspoon}} <sup>*</sup> ^ !
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball|Louisiana Tech]]
|-
| 11
|bgcolor=#98f5ff|{{sortname|Michele|Timms}} <sup>+</sup> ^ ! 
| G
| {{AUS}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[BTV 1846 Wuppertal|WTV Wuppertal]] ([[Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga|Germany]])
|-
| 12
| bgcolor=#FFFF99|{{sortname|Jennifer|Gillom}} <sup>*</sup> ^
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball|Ole Miss]]
|-
| 13
| bgcolor=#FFFF99|{{sortname|Ruthie|Bolton}} <sup>*</sup> ^
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| [[Auburn Tigers women's basketball|Auburn]]
|-
| 14
| bgcolor=#FFFF99| {{sortname|Bridgette|Gordon}} ^
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| [[Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball|Tennessee]]
|-
| 15
|bgcolor="#FFCC00"|{{sortname|Elena|Baranova}} <sup>+</sup>
| C/F
| {{RUS}}
| [[Utah Starzz]]
| [[WBC CSKA Moscow|CSKA Moscow]] ([[Russian Women's Basketball Premier League|Russia]])
|-
| 16
| {{sortname|Lady|Hardmon}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Utah Starzz]]
| [[Georgia Bulldogs women's basketball|Georgia]]
|}
''Note'': 16 players assigned in no particular order.

==Elite draft==
{{main|WNBA elite draft}}
The elite draft portion was composed of professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues.  It was the first time where the teams could draft the players out of a talent pool.

===Round 1===
{| class="wikitable sortable sortable"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Pick
! style="width:16%;"| Player
! style="width:1%;"| Position
! style="width:16%;"| Nationality
! style="width:30%;"| Team
! style="width:30%;"| School / club team
|-
| 1
| {{sortname|Dena|Head}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Utah Starzz]]
| [[Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball|Tennessee]]
|-
| 2
| {{sortname|Isabelle|Fijalkowski}}
| C/F
| {{FRA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball|Colorado]]
|-
| 3
| {{sortname|Rhonda|Mapp}}
| C/F
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[NC State Wolfpack women's basketball|NC State]]
|-
| 4
|bgcolor="#FFCC00"|{{sortname|Kym|Hampton}} <sup>+</sup>
| C/F
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Arizona State Sun Devils women's basketball|Arizona State]]
|-
| 5
| {{sortname|Wanda|Guyton}}
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| [[South Florida Bulls women's basketball|South Florida]]
|-
| 6
| {{sortname|Judy|Mosley-McAfee}}
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| [[Hawaii Rainbow Wahine basketball|Hawaii]]
|-
| 7
| {{sortname|Bridget|Pettis}}
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[Florida Gators women's basketball|Florida]]
|-
| 8
|bgcolor=#FFFF99| {{sortname|Daedra|Charles}}^
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball|Tennessee]]
|}

===Round 2===
{| class="wikitable sortable sortable"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Pick
! style="width:16%;"| Player
! style="width:1%;"| Position
! style="width:16%;"| Nationality
! style="width:30%;"| Team
! style="width:30%;"| School / club team
|-
| 9
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"|{{sortname|Wendy|Palmer}} *
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Utah Starzz]]
| [[Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball|Virginia]]
|-
| 10
| bgcolor=#98f5ff| {{sortname|Lynette|Woodard}} ^ !
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball|Kansas]]
|-
| 11
| {{sortname|Michi|Atkins}}
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball|Texas Tech]]
|-
| 12
|bgcolor="#FFCC00"|{{sortname|Vickie|Johnson}} <sup>+</sup>
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball|Louisiana Tech]]
|-
| 13
| bgcolor=#FFFF99|{{sortname|Janeth|Arcain}} * ^
| F
| {{BRA}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| Polti (Brazil)
|-
| 14
| {{sortname|Mikiko|Hagiwara}}
| G
| {{JPN}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| Japan Energy Griffins ([[Women's Japan Basketball League|Japan]])
|-
| 15
| bgcolor=#98f5ff| {{sortname|Nancy|Lieberman}} ^ !
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball|Old Dominion]]
|-
| 16
| [[Zheng Haixia]]<!-- Chinese name, "Zheng" is the family name -->
| C
| {{CHN}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[China women's national basketball team|China]]
|}

==College draft==

===Round 1===
{| class="wikitable sortable sortable"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Pick
! style="width:16%;"| Player
! style="width:1%;"| Position
! style="width:16%;"| Nationality
! style="width:30%;"| Team
! style="width:30%;"| School / club team
|-
| 1
| bgcolor=#98f5ff| {{sortname|Tina|Thompson}} * ^ ! 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]]
|-
| 2
| bgcolor=#FFFF99| {{sortname|Pamela|McGee}} ^
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]]
|-
| 3
| {{sortname|Jamila|Wideman}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Stanford Cardinal women's basketball|Stanford]]
|-
| 4
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC| {{sortname|Eva|Nemcova}} <sup>x</sup>
| G
| {{flagicon|Czechoslovakia}} [[Czechoslovakia]]
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[CJM Bourges Basket|Bourges]] ([[Ligue Féminine de Basketball|France]])
|-
| 5
| {{sortname|Tammi|Reiss}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Utah Starzz]]
| [[Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball|Virginia]]
|-
| 6
| bgcolor=#FFFF99| {{sortname|Sue|Wicks}} <sup>+</sup> ^
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball|Rutgers]]
|-
| 7
| {{sortname|Tora|Suber}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball|Virginia]]
|-
| 8
| {{sortname|Toni|Foster}}
| F/C
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball|Iowa]]
|}

===Round 2===
{| class="wikitable sortable sortable"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Pick
! style="width:16%;"| Player
! style="width:1%;"| Position
! style="width:16%;"| Nationality
! style="width:30%;"| Team
! style="width:30%;"| School / club team
|-
| 9
| {{sortname|Tia|Jackson}}
| G/F
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball|Iowa]]
|-
| 10
| [[Sharon Manning]] 
| C/F
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[NC State Wolfpack women's basketball|NC State]]
|-
| 11
| {{sortname|Sophia|Witherspoon}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Florida Gators women's basketball|Florida]]
|-
| 12
| {{sortname|Jessie|Hicks}}
| F/C
| {{USA}}
| [[Utah Starzz]]
| [[Maryland Terrapins women's basketball|Maryland]]
|-
| 13
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"|{{sortname|Merlakia|Jones}} *
| G/F
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[Florida Gators women's basketball|Florida]]
|-
| 14
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"|{{sortname|Tamecka|Dixon}} *
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball|Kansas]]
|-
| 15
| {{sortname|Denique|Graves}}
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| [[Howard Lady Bison basketball|Howard]]
|-
| 16
| {{sortname|Tammy|Jackson}}
| F/C
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| [[Florida Gators women's basketball|Florida]]
|}

===Round 3===
{| class="wikitable sortable sortable"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Pick
! style="width:16%;"| Player
! style="width:1%;"| Position
! style="width:16%;"| Nationality
! style="width:30%;"| Team
! style="width:30%;"| School / club team
|-
| 17
|bgcolor=#C0C0C0| {{sortname|Racquel|Spurlock}} <sup>#</sup>
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball|Louisiana Tech]]
|-
| 18
| {{sortname|Chantel|Tremitiere}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| [[Auburn Tigers women's basketball|Auburn]]
|-
| 19
| {{sortname|Katrina|Colleton}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Maryland Terrapins women's basketball|Maryland]]
|-
| 20
| {{sortname|Tina|Nicholson}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[Penn State Lady Lions basketball|Penn State]]
|-
| 21
| {{sortname|Raegan|Scott|Raegan Pebley}}
| F/C
| {{USA}}
| [[Utah Starzz]]
| [[Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball|Colorado]]
|-
| 22
| {{sortname|Trena|Trice}}
| F/C
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[NC State Wolfpack women's basketball|NC State]]
|-
| 23
| {{sortname|Debra|Williams|dab=basketball}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball|Louisiana Tech]]
|-
| 24
|{{sortname|Umeki|Webb}}
| G/F
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[NC State Wolfpack women's basketball|NC State]]
|}

===Round 4===
{| class="wikitable sortable sortable"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Pick
! style="width:16%;"| Player
! style="width:1%;"| Position
! style="width:16%;"| Nationality
! style="width:30%;"| Team
! style="width:30%;"| School / club team
|-
| 25
| {{sortname|Monique|Ambers}}
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[Arizona State Sun Devils women's basketball|Arizona State]]
|-
| 26
| {{sortname|Andrea|Congreaves}}
| F/C
| {{GBR}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[Mercer Bears women's basketball|Mercer]]
|-
| 27
| {{sortname|Kisha|Ford}}
| G/F
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball|Georgia Tech]]
|-
| 28
| {{sortname|Kim|Williams|dab=basketball}}
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Utah Starzz]]
| [[DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball|DePaul]]
|-
| 29
| {{sortname|Anita|Maxwell}}
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[New Mexico State Aggies women's basketball|New Mexico State]]
|-
| 30
| {{sortname|Travesa|Gant}}
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball|Lamar]]
|-
| 31
| {{sortname|Tajama|Abraham}}
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| [[George Washington Colonials women's basketball|George Washington]]
|-
| 32
| {{sortname|Catarina|Pollini}}
| F
| {{ITA}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| [[Texas Longhorns women's basketball|Texas]]
|}

==Notable undrafted players==
These players were not selected in the 1997 WNBA draft but played at least one game for the WNBA.
{| class="wikitable sortable sortable"
|-
! style="width:19%;"| Player
! style="width:1%;"| Position
! style="width:16%;"| Nationality
! style="width:20%;"| School / club team
|-
|{{sortname|Marcie|Alberts}}
|G
|{{USA}}
|[[Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball|Ohio State]]
|-
|{{sortname|Jenny|Boucek}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/jenny_boucek.html |title=Jenny Boucek Player File |website=wnba.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010430030949/http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/jenny_boucek.html |archive-date=30 April 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|G
|{{USA}}
|[[Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball|Virginia]]
|-
|{{sortname|Rushia|Brown}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/rushia_brown.html |title=Rushia Brown Player File: Rockers |website=wnba.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010415021010/http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/rushia_brown.html |archive-date=15 April 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|F
|{{USA}}
|[[Furman Paladins women's basketball|Furman]]
|-
|{{sortname|Linda|Burgess}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/linda_burgess.html |title=Linda Burgess Player File: Monarchs |website=wnba.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010220211709/http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/linda_burgess.html |archive-date=20 February 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball|Alabama]]
|-
|{{sortname|Pietra|Gay}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/pietra_gay.html |title=Comets Player File: Pietra Gay |website=www.wnba.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980208062146/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/pietra_gay.html |archive-date=8 February 1998 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|G/F
|{{TTO}}
|[[LSU Lady Tigers basketball|LSU]]
|-
|{{sortname|Kim|Gessig}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/kim_gessig.html |title=Sparks Player File: Kim Gessig |website=www.wnba.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010712172125/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/kim_gessig.html |archive-date=12 July 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|F
|{{USA}}
|[[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]]
|-
|{{sortname|Nekeshia|Henderson}}
|G
|{{USA}}
|[[Texas Longhorns women's basketball|Texas]]
|-
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"|{{sortname|Mwadi|Mabika}} *
| G/F
| {{ZAI}}
| [[Club 57 Tourbillon|Tourbillon Kinshasa]] (Congo)
|-
|{{sortname|Yolanda|Moore}}
|F
|{{USA}}
|[[Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball|Ole Miss]]
|-
|{{sortname|Kim|Perrot}}
|PG
|{{USA}}
|[[Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball|Southwestern Louisiana]]
|-
|{{sortname|Tiffany|Woosley}}
|G
|{{USA}}
|[[Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball|Tennessee]]
|}

== See also ==
*[[List of first overall WNBA draft picks]]

==References==
<references />
*{{cite web | url=http://origin.wnba.com/history/alltime_draft_list.html | title=All-Time WNBA Draft List | access-date=August 6, 2016 | publisher=WNBA | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509153954/http://www.wnba.com/history/alltime_draft_list.html | archive-date=May 9, 2008 | url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web|title=WNBA Elite Draft|url=http://www.nba.com/wnba/elite_draft.html|publisher=WNBA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970416054508/http://www.nba.com/wnba/elite_draft.html|archive-date=April 16, 1997|access-date=August 6, 2016}}

{{WNBA Drafts}}
{{1997 WNBA draft}}
{{1997 WNBA season by team}}

[[Category:WNBA draft]]
[[Category:1997 WNBA season|Draft]]