View source for 2010 WNBA draft

{{Short description|2010 meeting of WNBA teams to select players}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| name        = 2010 WNBA draft
| image       = 2010 WNBA Draft.png
| caption     = 
| logo        = 
| logosize    = 
| sport       = Basketball
| date        = December 14, 2009 – April 8, 2010
| location    = [[Secaucus, New Jersey|Secaucus]], [[New Jersey]]
| network     = [[ESPN2]], [[NBATV]], [[ESPNU]]
| league      = WNBA
| teams       = 
| first       = [[Tina Charles (basketball)|Tina Charles]]<br>[[Connecticut Sun]]
| merging_teams = [[Sacramento Monarchs]] <br> (folded in 2009)
| territorial = 
| prev        = [[2009 WNBA draft|2009]]
| next        = [[2011 WNBA draft|2011]]
}}

The '''[[2010 WNBA season|2010]] [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA]] [[WNBA draft|draft]]''' is the league's annual [[draft (sports)|process]] for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 8, 2010. The first round was shown on [[ESPN2]] ([[high-definition television|HD]]), while the second and third rounds were shown on [[NBA TV]] and [[ESPNU]].

A lottery was held on November 5, 2009. The Minnesota Lynx received the first overall selection of the draft. The Sacramento Monarchs received the number two selection. The Connecticut Sun came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Minnesota Lynx again at four, and the Chicago Sky at number five.

Additionally, on December 14, 2009, the WNBA held a [[2010 WNBA dispersal draft|dispersal draft]] to re-assign players from the [[Sacramento Monarchs]] who folded at the end of [[2009 WNBA season]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sacramento Monarchs Dispersal Draft Analysis |url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/news/monarchs_dispersal_analysis_091214.html |website=WNBA |date=December 14, 2009 |access-date=May 26, 2025}}</ref> Since the Monarchs folded after the draft lottery took place, their pick was simply eliminated.

==Draft lottery==
The lottery selection to determine the order of the top five picks in the 2010 Draft occurred on November 5, 2009, the [[Minnesota Lynx]] won the first pick, while the [[Sacramento Monarchs]] and [[Connecticut Sun]] were awarded the second and third picks respectively.<ref name=2010lottery>{{cite news |title=Minnesota Lynx Win Top Pick in 2010 WNBA Draft |url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/news/draft_lottery_results_091105.html |publisher=WNBA |date=November 9, 2009 |access-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref> The remaining first-round picks and all the second- and third-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss records in the [[2009 WNBA season|previous season]].<ref name=2010lottery/>

Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2010 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places{{efn|Notes:
*Team selected for the [[List of first overall WNBA draft picks|No. 1 pick]] noted in '''bold text'''
*Shaded block denotes actual lottery result}}:
{|class="wikitable" style="width:70%"
!rowspan="2"|Team
!rowspan="2"|[[2009 WNBA season|2009<br>record]]
!rowspan="2"|Lottery<br>chances
!colspan="5"|Pick
|-
!1st||2nd||3rd||4th||5th
|-
| [[Sacramento Monarchs]]{{efn|Sacramento Monarchs folded in December 2009, so their No. 2 pick was removed and the subsequent draft picks moved one place up.}}
| 12–22
| 420
| .420
| style="background-color:#FFFF99"|.302
| .181
| .097
| .000
|-
| '''[[Minnesota Lynx]]''' {{small|(from [[New York Liberty|New York]] via [[Los Angeles Sparks|Los Angeles]])}}{{efn|May 5, 2009: Three-team trade among Los Angeles, Minnesota, and New York<ref>{{cite news |title=Sparks Acquire L.A. Native Noelle Quinn |url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/sparks/news/quinn_50509.html |publisher=WNBA |date=May 5, 2009 |access-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>
*Los Angeles acquired [[Noelle Quinn]] (from Minnesota) and a ''2010 first-round pick'' (from New York)
*New York acquired [[Sidney Spencer]] (from Los Angeles)
*Minnesota acquired exclusive negotiating rights for [[Raffaella Masciadri]] and New York's ''2010 first-round pick'' (from Los Angeles)|name=MinNewLos}}
| 13–21
| 261
| style="background-color:#FFFF99"|.261
| .284
| .246
| .200
| .008
|-
| '''[[Minnesota Lynx]]'''
| 14–20
| 167
| .167
| .207
| .263
| style="background-color:#FFFF99"|.315
| .048
|-
| [[Connecticut Sun]]
| 16–18
| 78
| .076
| .103
| style="background-color:#FFFF99"|.155
| .388
| .278
|-
| [[Chicago Sky]]
| 16–18
| 78
| .076
| .103
| .155
| .000
| style="background-color:#FFFF99"|.666
|}
{{notelist}}

==Transactions==
*January 30, 2009: The [[Washington Mystics]] receive the second-round pick from the [[Minnesota Lynx]] as part of the [[Lindsey Harding]] transaction.
*March 26, 2009: The [[Los Angeles Sparks]] receive the first-round pick from the [[Phoenix Mercury]] as part of the [[Temeka Johnson]] transaction.
*May 5, 2009: The [[Minnesota Lynx]] receive the first-round pick from the [[New York Liberty]] (via [[Los Angeles Sparks|L.A.]]) as part of the [[Sidney Spencer]]/[[Noelle Quinn]] transaction.
*November 20, 2009: The league announces the folding of the [[Sacramento Monarchs]]. The Monarchs' picks in the draft were simply eliminated.
*January 12, 2010: The [[Connecticut Sun]] receive the first overall pick in exchange for the second overall pick from the [[Minnesota Lynx]] as part of the [[Lindsay Whalen]]/[[Renee Montgomery]] transaction.
<small>Source</small><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnba.com/transactions/WNBA_2009.html |title=2009 WNBA Transactions |website=wnba.com}}</ref>

==Key==
{{WNBA Draft legend|1=y|2=y|3=y|4=y|6=y|7=y}}

==Draft==
===Round 1===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! width=100|Pick
! width=300|Player
! width=200|Nationality
! width=350|Team
! width=300|School / club team
|-
| 1
|  style="background-color:#FBCEB1"|'''[[Tina Charles (basketball)|Tina Charles]]''' *
| rowspan=8| {{USA}}
| [[Connecticut Sun]] {{small|(from [[New York Liberty|New York]] via [[Los Angeles Sparks|Los Angeles]] and [[Minnesota Lynx|Minnesota]])}}
| [[Connecticut Huskies women's basketball|Connecticut]]
|-
| 2
| [[Monica Wright]]
| [[Minnesota Lynx]] {{small|(from [[Connecticut Sun|Connedcticut]])}}
| [[Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball|Virginia]]
|-
| 3
| [[Kelsey Griffin]] {{small|(traded to [[Connecticut Sun|Connecticut]])}}
| Minnesota Lynx
| [[Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball|Nebraska]]
|-
| 4
| style="background-color:#FBCEB1"|[[Epiphanny Prince]] *
| [[Chicago Sky]]
| [[Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball|Rutgers]]/[[Turkey]]
|-
| 5
| [[Jayne Appel]]
| [[San Antonio Stars|San Antonio Silver Stars]]
| [[Stanford Cardinal women's basketball|Stanford]]
|-
| 6
| [[Jacinta Monroe]]
| [[Washington Mystics]]
| [[Florida State Seminoles women's basketball|Florida State]]
|-
| 7
| [[Danielle McCray]]
| Connecticut Sun {{small|from [[Tulsa Shock|Tulsa]])}}
| [[Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball|Kansas]]
|-
| 8
| [[Andrea Riley]]
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Oklahoma State Cowgirls basketball|Oklahoma State]]
|-
| 9
| [[Chanel Mokango]]
| {{flag|DR Congo}}
| [[Atlanta Dream]]
| [[Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball|Mississippi State]]
|-
| 10
| [[Alison Lacey]]
| {{AUS}}
| [[Seattle Storm]]
| [[Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball|Iowa State]]
|-
| 11
| [[Jené Morris]]
| rowspan=2| {{USA}}
| [[Indiana Fever]]
| [[San Diego State Aztecs women's basketball|San Diego State]]
|-
| 12
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | Bianca Thomas <sup>#</sup>
| Los Angeles Sparks {{small|(from [[Phoenix Mercury|Phoenix]])}}
| [[Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball|Ole Miss]]
|}

===Round 2===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! width=100|Pick
! width=300|Player
! width=200|Nationality
! width=350|Team
! width=300|School / club team
|-
| 13
| [[Kalana Greene]]
| rowspan=4| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Connecticut Huskies women's basketball|Connecticut]]
|-
| 14
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Jenna Smith (basketball)|Jenna Smith]] <sup>#</sup>
| [[Washington Mystics]] {{small|(from [[Minnesota Lynx|Minnesota]])}}
| [[Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball|Illinois]]
|-
| 15
| bgcolor=#FFCC00| [[Allison Hightower]] <sup>+</sup>
| [[Connecticut Sun]]
| [[LSU Lady Tigers basketball|LSU]]
|-
| 16
| [[Ashley Houts]]
| New York Liberty {{small|(from [[Chicago Sky|Chicago]])}}
| [[Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball|Georgia]]
|-
| 17
| [[Alysha Clark]]
| {{flag|Israel}} / {{USA}}
| [[San Antonio Stars|San Antonio Silver Stars]]
| [[Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball|Middle Tennessee]]
|-
| 18
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Shanavia Dowdell]] <sup>#</sup>
| rowspan=3| {{USA}}
| Washington Mystics
| [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball|Louisiana Tech]]
|-
| 19
| [[Amanda Thompson (basketball)|Amanda Thompson]]
| [[Tulsa Shock]]
| [[Oklahoma Sooners women's basketball|Oklahoma]]
|-
| 20
| [[Angel Robinson (basketball, born 1987)|Angel Robinson]]
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| Georgia
|-
| 21
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Brigitte Ardossi]] <sup>#</sup>
| {{flag|Australia}}
| [[Atlanta Dream]]
| [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball|Georgia Tech]]
|-
| 22
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Tanisha Smith]] <sup>#</sup>
| {{USA}}
| [[Seattle Storm]]
| [[Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball|Texas A&M]]
|-
| 23
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Armelie Lumanu]] <sup>#</sup>
| {{flag|DR Congo}}
| [[Indiana Fever]]
| [[Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball|Mississippi State]]
|-
| 24
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Tyra Grant]] <sup>#</sup>
| {{USA}}
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| [[Penn State Lady Lions basketball|Penn State]]
|}

===Round 3===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! width=100|Pick
! width=300|Player
! width=200|Nationality
! width=350|Team
! width=300|School / club team
|-
| 25
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Cory Montgomery <sup>#</sup>
| {{USA}}
| [[New York Liberty]]
| [[Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball|Nebraska]]
|-
| 26
| [[Gabriela Marginean]]
| {{flag|Romania}}
| [[Minnesota Lynx]]
| [[Drexel Dragons women's basketball|Drexel]]
|-
| 27
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Johannah Leedham]] <sup>#</sup>
| {{flag|Great Britain}}
| [[Connecticut Sun]]
| [[Franklin Pierce Ravens|Franklin Pierce]]
|-
| 28
| [[Abi Olajuwon]]
| rowspan=6| {{USA}}
| [[Chicago Sky]]
| [[Oklahoma Sooners women's basketball|Oklahoma]]
|-
| 29
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Alexis Rack <sup>#</sup>
| [[San Antonio Stars|San Antonio Silver Stars]]
| [[Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball|Mississippi State]]
|-
| 30
| [[Alexis Gray-Lawson]]
| [[Washington Mystics]]
| [[California Golden Bears women's basketball|California]]
|-
| 31
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Vivian Frieson <sup>#</sup>
| [[Tulsa Shock]]
| [[Gonzaga Bulldogs women's basketball|Gonzaga]]
|-
| 32
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Rashidat Junaid <sup>#</sup>
| [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| [[Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball|Rutgers]]
|-
| 33
| [[Brittainey Raven]]
| [[Atlanta Dream]]
| [[Texas Longhorns women's basketball|Texas]]
|-
| 34
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| [[Tijana Krivačević]] <sup>#</sup>
| {{SRB}} / {{HUN}}
| [[Seattle Storm]]
| [[Sopron Basket|MKB Euroleasing Sopron]] {{small|([[Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A (women's basketball)|Hungary]])}}
|-
| 35
| [[Joy Cheek]]
| rowspan=2| {{USA}}
| [[Indiana Fever]]
| [[Duke Blue Devils women's basketball|Duke]]
|-
| 36
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0| Nyeshia Stevenson <sup>#</sup>
| [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| Oklahoma
|}

== 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 history | publisher=WNBA | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012083033/http://wnba.com/history/alltime_draft_list.html | archive-date=2008-10-12 | url-status=dead }}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120623012641/http://www.wnba.com/draft2010/draft_board.html 2010 WNBA Draft Board]

{{WNBA Drafts}}
{{2010 WNBA draft}}
{{2010 WNBA season by team}}

[[Category:WNBA draft]]
[[Category:2010 WNBA season|Draft]]