View source for 2003 WNBA draft

{{Short description|2003 meeting of WNBA teams to select players}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| name        = 2003 WNBA draft
| image       = 
| caption     = 
| logo        = 
| logosize    = 
| sport       = Basketball
| date        = April 24, 2003
| location    = 
| network     = 
| league      = WNBA
| teams       = 
| merging_teams = [[Miami Sol]] <br> [[Portland Fire]] <br> (both teams folded in 2002)
| first       = [[LaToya Thomas]]<br>[[Cleveland Rockers]]
| territorial = 
| prev        = [[2002 WNBA draft|2002]]
| next        = [[2004 WNBA draft|2004]]
}}

The '''2003 WNBA draft''', both the [[2003 WNBA dispersal draft|dispersal draft]] and the annual WNBA draft, took place on April 24, 2003.  

The dispersal draft involved players from the rosters of the [[Portland Fire]] and [[Miami Sol]] teams which had both folded after the 2002 season. For that reason, Miami's picks obtained in trades were lost.<ref>{{cite web |title=PLUS: W.N.B.A.; Dispersal Draft Scatters 2 Rosters |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/25/sports/plus-wnba-dispersal-draft-scatters-2-rosters.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 25, 2003 |access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref> Former Sol and Fire players not selected in the dispersal draft became [[Free agent#Unrestricted free agent|unrestricted free agents]].<ref name=ESPN>{{cite web |title=Detroit adds Riley with top pick |url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/news/2003/0424/1544361.html |work=[[ESPN]] |date=April 25, 2003 |access-date=May 23, 2025}}</ref> The order of selection was determined by teams' 2002 regular season records, going from worst to first.<ref name=ESPN/>

Along with the folding of the Fire and the Sol, two teams moved to new cities. The [[Utah Starzz]] moved from [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], to [[San Antonio, Texas]], changing their name to the [[San Antonio Silver Stars]], and the [[Orlando Miracle]] moved from [[Orlando, Florida]], to [[Uncasville, Connecticut]], to become the [[Connecticut Sun]]. The Sun became the first franchise not to be based in a city that also was home to an [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] franchise.

The draft itself also changed. Instead of the previous four-round format, the 2003 draft shrank to its current format of only three rounds.

==Key==
{{WNBA Draft legend|1=y|2=y|3=y|4=y|6=y|7=y}}
==Draft==
===Round 1===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="width:5%;"| Pick
! style="width:20%;"| Player
! style="width:5%;"| Position
! style="width:20%;"| Nationality
! style="width:25%;"| Team
! style="width:25%;"| School / club team
|-
| 1
| [[LaToya Thomas]] 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball|Mississippi State]]
|-
| 2
| [[Chantelle Anderson]] 
| C
| {{LIB}}
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| [[Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball|Vanderbilt]]
|-
| 3
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"|'''[[Cheryl Ford]]''' * 
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Detroit Shock]]
| [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball|Louisiana Tech]]
|-
| 4
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Plenette Pierson]] <sup>+</sup>
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball|Texas Tech]]
|-
| 5
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Kara Lawson]] <sup>+</sup>
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Detroit Shock]] (from Connecticut, traded to Sacramento)
| [[Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball|Tennessee]]
|-
| 6
| [[Gwen Jackson]] 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Indiana Fever]]
| [[Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball|Tennessee]]
|-
| 7
| [[Aiysha Smith]] 
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Washington Mystics]]
| [[LSU Lady Tigers basketball|LSU]]
|-
| 8
| [[Jung Sun-min]] 
| C
| {{KOR}}
| [[Seattle Storm]]
| [[Gwangju Sinsegye Coolcats]] <small>([[Women's Korean Basketball League|South Korea]])</small>
|-
| 9
| [[Jocelyn Penn]] 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball|South Carolina]]
|-
| 10
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Molly Creamer]] <sup>#</sup>
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Bucknell Bison women's basketball|Bucknell]]
|-
| 11
| [[Coretta Brown]] 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[San Antonio Stars|San Antonio Silver Stars]]
| [[North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball|North Carolina]]
|-
| 12
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Allison Curtin]] <sup>#</sup>
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]] (traded to Detroit)
| [[Tulsa Golden Hurricane women's basketball|Tulsa]]
|}

===Round 2===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="width:5%;"| Pick
! style="width:20%;"| Player
! style="width:5%;"| Position
! style="width:20%;"| Nationality
! style="width:25%;"| Team
! style="width:25%;"| School / club team
|-
| 13
| [[Courtney Coleman]] 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Connecticut Sun]] (from Detroit)
| [[Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball|Ohio State]]
|-
| 14
| bgcolor=#98f5ff| [[Teresa Edwards]] ^ !
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Minnesota Lynx]]
| [[Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball|Georgia]]
|-
| 15
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Jennifer Butler]] <sup>#</sup>
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[UMass Minutewomen basketball|Massachusetts]]
|-
| 16
| [[Petra Ujhelyi]] 
| F/C
| {{HUN}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]] (traded to Detroit)
| [[South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball|South Carolina]]
|-
| 17
| [[Erin Thorn]] 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]] (from Sacramento)
| [[BYU Cougars women's basketball|BYU]]
|-
| 18
| [[Jordan Adams (basketball, born 1981)|Jordan Adams]] 
| C
| {{CAN}}
| [[Minnesota Lynx]] (from Miami)
| [[New Mexico Lobos women's basketball|New Mexico]]
|-
| 19
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Lori Nero]] <sup>#</sup> 
| F/C
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]] (from Connecticut)
| [[Louisville Cardinals women's basketball|Louisville]]
|-
| 20
| [[DeTrina White]] 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Indiana Fever]]
| [[LSU Lady Tigers basketball|LSU]]
|-
| 21
| [[Zuzana Žirková]] 
| G
| {{SVK}}
| [[Washington Mystics]]
| [[BK Brno|Gambrinus Sika Brno]] {{small|([[Czech Women's Basketball League|Czech Republic]])}}
|-
| 22
| [[Suzy Batkovic]] 
| C
| {{AUS}}
| [[Seattle Storm]]
| [[Union Sportive Valenciennes Olympic|Valenciennes]] <small>([[Ligue Féminine de Basketball|France]])</small>
|-
| 23
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Dana Cherry <sup>#</sup> 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Charlotte Sting]]
| [[Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball|Arkansas]]
|-
| 24
| [[Sonja Mallory]] 
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball|Georgia Tech]]
|-
| 25
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Ke-Ke Tardy <sup>#</sup> 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[San Antonio Stars|San Antonio Silver Stars]]
| [[LSU Lady Tigers basketball|LSU]]
|-
| 26
| [[K. B. Sharp]] 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]] (from Houston)
| [[Cincinnati Bearcats women's basketball|Cincinnati]]
|-
| 27
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Schuye LaRue <sup>#</sup> 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball|Virginia]]
|}

===Round 3===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="width:5%;"| Pick
! style="width:20%;"| Player
! style="width:5%;"| Position
! style="width:20%;"| Nationality
! style="width:25%;"| Team
! style="width:25%;"| School / club team
|-
| 28
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Syreeta Bromfield <sup>#</sup>
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Detroit Shock]]
| [[Michigan State Spartans women's basketball|Michigan State]]
|-
| 29
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Carla Bennett <sup>#</sup>
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Minnesota Lynx]]
| [[Drake Bulldogs women's basketball|Drake]]
|-
| 30
| [[Shaquala Williams]] 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Cleveland Rockers]]
| [[Oregon Ducks women's basketball|Oregon]]
|-
| 31
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Telisha Quarles <sup>#</sup>
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]] (traded to Detroit)
| [[Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball|Virginia]]
|-
| 32
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Trish Juhline <sup>#</sup>
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Washington Mystics]] (from Sacramento)
| [[Villanova Wildcats women's basketball|Villanova]]
|-
| 33
| [[Marion Jones]] 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]] (from Miami)
| [[North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball|North Carolina]]
|-
| 34
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Lindsey Wilson <sup>#</sup>
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Connecticut Sun]]
| [[Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball|Iowa State]]
|-
| 35
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Ashley McElhiney]] <sup>#</sup> 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Indiana Fever]]
| [[Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball|Vanderbilt]]
|-
| 36
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Tamara Bowie]] <sup>#</sup> 
| F
| {{USA}}
| [[Washington Mystics]]
| [[Ball State Cardinals women's basketball|Ball State]]
|-
| 37
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Chrissy Floyd <sup>#</sup> 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Seattle Storm]]
| [[Clemson Tigers women's basketball|Clemson]]
|-
| 38
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Constance Jinks <sup>#</sup>  
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[Houston Comets]] (from Charlotte)
| [[UNLV Lady Rebels basketball|UNLV]]
|-
| 39
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Nicole Kaczmarski]] <sup>#</sup> 
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[UCLA Bruins women's basketball|UCLA]]
|-
| 40
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Brooke Armistead <sup>#</sup>  
| G
| {{USA}}
| [[San Antonio Silver Stars]]
| [[Austin Peay Lady Govs basketball|Austin Peay]]
|-
| 41
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Oxana Rakhmatulina]] <sup>#</sup> 
| G
| {{RUS}}
| [[Houston Comets]]
| [[CSKA Samara]] {{small|([[Russian Women's Basketball Premier League|Russia]])}}
|-
| 42
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Mary Jo Noon <sup>#</sup> 
| C
| {{USA}}
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Purdue Boilermakers women's basketball|Purdue]]
|}

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

==References==
<references />
*{{cite web | url=http://www.wnba.com/history/alltime_draft_list.html | title=All-Time WNBA Draft List | accessdate=June 4, 2008 | publisher=WNBA | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509153954/http://www.wnba.com/history/alltime_draft_list.html | archivedate=May 9, 2008 | url-status=dead }}

{{WNBA Drafts}}
{{2003 WNBA draft}}
{{2003 WNBA season by team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:WNBA draft}}
[[Category:2003 WNBA season|Draft]]
[[Category:WNBA draft|2003]]