| 2016 WNBA draft | |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Date: | April 14, 2016 |
| Location: | Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut |
| Network: | ESPN2 (first round) ESPNU (second and third rounds) |
| League: | WNBA |
| First: | Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm |
| Prev: | 2015 |
| Next: | 2017 |
The 2016 WNBA draft is the league's draft for the 2016 WNBA season. It was held on April 14 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.[1]
The draft was most notable for Connecticut producing the top three picks, with #1 pick Breanna Stewart followed by Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck.[2] This is the first time in history that the top three draft picks came from the same school.[3]
The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2016 draft occurred on September 24, 2015. The winner of the lottery, the Seattle Storm, picked first, marking the first pick for the Storm for the second straight year.[4]
This is the third time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds. The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2014 and 2015 WNBA season. Seattle Storm, the worst two-year record, was guaranteed with at least the third pick.
| width=30 | Pick | width=333 | Player | width=200 | Nationality | width=383 | Team | width=333 | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Rachel Hollivay | Atlanta Dream | Rutgers | ||||||
| 14 | Jazmon Gwathmey | Minnesota Lynx (then traded to San Antonio)[5] | James Madison | ||||||
| 15 | Whitney Knight | Los Angeles Sparks from Connecticut Sun | Florida Gulf Coast | ||||||
| 16 | Courtney Walker | Atlanta Dream | Texas A&M | ||||||
| 17 | Jamie Weisner | Connecticut Sun from Los Angeles Sparks | Oregon State | ||||||
| 18 | Ruth Hamblin | Dallas Wings | Oregon State | ||||||
| 19 | Lia Galdeira | Washington Mystics | Washington State | ||||||
| 20 | Jillian Alleyne | Phoenix Mercury | Oregon | ||||||
| 21 | Brene Moseley | Indiana Fever | Maryland | ||||||
| 22 | Bashaara Graves | Minnesota Lynx | Tennessee | ||||||
| 23 | Brianna Butler | Los Angeles Sparks from Connecticut Sun | Syracuse | ||||||
| 24 | Ameryst Alston | New York Liberty | Ohio State |
| width=30 | Pick | width=333 | Player | width=200 | Nationality | width=383 | Team | width=333 | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Brittney Martin | San Antonio Stars | Oklahoma State | ||||||
| 26 | Lexi Eaton Rydalch | Seattle Storm | BYU | ||||||
| 27 | Aliyyah Handford | Connecticut Sun | St. John's | ||||||
| 28 | Niya Johnson | Atlanta Dream | Baylor | ||||||
| 29 | Talia Walton | Los Angeles Sparks | Washington | ||||||
| 30 | Shakena Richardson | Dallas Wings | Seton Hall | ||||||
| 31 | Danaejah Grant | Washington Mystics | St. John's | ||||||
| 32 | Nirra Fields | Phoenix Mercury | UCLA | ||||||
| 33 | Julie Allemand | Indiana Fever | Castors Braine (Belgium) | ||||||
| 34 | Jordan Jones | Chicago Sky | Texas A&M | ||||||
| 35 | Temi Fagbenle | Minnesota Lynx | USC | ||||||
| 36 | Shacobia Barbee | New York Liberty | Georgia |
On September 24, 2015, WNBA.com posted notable prospects for the draft. The list included:[6]
The WNBA also selected twelve players to be in attendance at the draft. Those twelve were:[7]
Of those 12 players, 10 were picked in the 1st round. Only Courtney Walker and Talia Walton were picked later.