The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) expansion draft is an event hosted by the WNBA as needed that allows expansion teams to select from a pool of existing WNBA players to build their debut rosters. Pre-existing WNBA teams are allowed to protect six players on their current rosters from being drafted.
Prior to the 2000 expansion draft, the WNBA allocated players from outside of the league to new expansion teams both prior to and following the WNBA draft and expansion drafts.
The WNBA has hosted six expansion drafts since the league's creation in 1996 with the introduction of the Detroit Shock and Washington Mystics in 1998; the Minnesota Lynx and Orlando Miracle in 1999; the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and Seattle Storm in 2000; the Chicago Sky in 2006; the Atlanta Dream in 2008; and the Golden State Valkyries in 2024.
1998: Detroit Shock, Washington Mystics
Initial player allocation
| Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cindy Brown (F) |  United States
|
Detroit Shock | Long Beach State (from Seattle Reign, ABL) |
| 2 | Razija Mujanović (C) |  Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Detroit Shock | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 3 | Nikki McCray (G) | United States
|
Washington Mystics | Tennessee (from Columbus Quest, ABL) |
| 4 | Alessandra Santos de Oliveira (C) |  Brazil
|
Washington Mystics | Pool Comense (Italy) |
Expansion draft
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New Team | Former Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhonda Blades (G) | United States
|
Detroit Shock | New York Liberty |
| 2 | Heidi Burge (F) | United States
|
Washington Mystics | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 3 | Tajama Abraham (C) | United States
|
Detroit Shock | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 4 | Penny Moore (F) | United States
|
Washington Mystics | Charlotte Sting |
| 5 | Tara Williams (G) | United States
|
Detroit Shock | Phoenix Mercury |
| 6 | Deborah Carter (F) | United States
|
Washington Mystics | Utah Starzz |
| 7 | Lynette Woodard (G) | United States
|
Detroit Shock | Cleveland Rockers |
| 8 | Tammy Jackson (F/C) | United States
|
Washington Mystics | Houston Comets |
1999: Minnesota Lynx, Orlando Miracle
Initial Expansion Player Allocation
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New WNBA Team | Former WNBA Team | College/Country/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristin Folkl (F) | United States
|
Minnesota Lynx | None | Stanford |
| 2 | Nykesha Sales (G/F) | United States
|
Orlando Miracle | None | Connecticut |
Expansion Draft Selections
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New WNBA Team | Former WNBA Team | College/Country/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandy Reed (F) | United States
|
Minnesota Lynx | Phoenix Mercury | Southern Mississippi |
| 2 | Andrea Congreaves (F) |  United Kingdom
|
Orlando Miracle | Charlotte Sting | Mercer |
| 3 | Kim Williams (G) | United States
|
Minnesota Lynx | Utah Starzz | DePaul |
| 4 | Kisha Ford (G) | United States
|
Orlando Miracle | New York Liberty | Georgia Tech |
| 5 | Octavia Blue (G) | United States
|
Minnesota Lynx | Los Angeles Sparks | Miami (FL) |
| 6 | Yolanda Moore (F) | United States
|
Orlando Miracle | Houston Comets | Mississippi |
| 7 | Adia Barnes (F) | United States
|
Minnesota Lynx | Sacramento Monarchs | Arizona |
| 8 | Adrienne Johnson (G) | United States
|
Orlando Miracle | Cleveland Rockers | Ohio State |
Post Expansion Draft Player Allocation
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New WNBA Team | Former WNBA Team | College/Country/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katie Smith (F) | United States
|
Minnesota Lynx | None | Ohio State from Columbus Quest, ABL |
| 2 | Shannon Johnson (G/F) | United States
|
Orlando Miracle | None | South Carolina from Columbus Quest, ABL |
2000: Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, Seattle Storm
2006: Chicago Sky
2008: Atlanta Dream
Source:[1]
2024: Golden State Valkyries
On December 6, 2024 an expansion draft occurred to help fill the roster for the expansion Golden State Valkyries and the team will also participate in the 2025 WNBA draft prior to the team's first season in 2025.[2]
The WNBA announced on September 30, 2024 that the expansion draft would be held on December 6 and televised by ESPN, and also announced the draft rules. Each existing WNBA team had to provide the league office with a list of all players to which it held contract rights as of the final day of the 2024 regular season; the submission deadline was not determined, but was expected to be about 10 days before the draft. Each team also had to designate no more than six players who would not be eligible for selection. The Valkyries were allowed to select one available player from each of the 12 previously existing teams. Only one player eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024 season could be chosen, and that player could not have played under a "core player" contract for two or more seasons. The Valkyries were allowed to make trades prior to the expansion draft, including agreements to (1) select a given player and trade that player to another team or (2) select or not select an available player from a given team.[3]
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New WNBA Team | Former WNBA Team | College/Country/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iliana Rupert (C) |  France
|
Golden State Valkyries | Atlanta Dream | France |
| 2 | María Conde (F) |  Spain
|
Chicago Sky | Florida State | |
| 3 | Veronica Burton (G) | United States
|
Connecticut Sun | Northwestern | |
| 4 | Carla Leite (G) | France
|
Dallas Wings | France | |
| 5 | Temi Fagbenle (C) | Great Britain
|
Indiana Fever | USC | |
| 6 | Kate Martin (G) | United States
|
Las Vegas Aces | Iowa | |
| 7 | Stephanie Talbot (F) |  Australia
|
Los Angeles Sparks | Australia | |
| 8 | Cecilia Zandalasini (F) |  Italy
|
Minnesota Lynx | Italy | |
| 9 | Kayla Thornton (F) | United States
|
New York Liberty | UTEP | |
| 10 | Monique Billings (F) | United States
|
Phoenix Mercury | UCLA | |
| 11 | No selection | — | Seattle Storm | — | |
| 12 | Julie Vanloo (G) |  Belgium
|
Washington Mystics | Belgium |
Source:[4]
2025 or 2026: Toronto Tempo, Portland WNBA team
Some time following the 2025 season an expansion draft will occur that will help fill the roster for the Toronto Tempo and the currently unnamed expansion Portland WNBA team, both of which are scheduled to begin play in the 2026 season. The details and rules for this draft are currently unknown.
Future expansion
During a press conference in October 2024 WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert stated that the league seeks to have a 16th team installed by the 2028 WNBA season.[5] According to Sports Business Journal bids from Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Austin, Kansas City, Orlando, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver, Cleveland as well as multiple bids for Miami are expected for the next expansion team.[6]
References
- ^ WNBA.com: Atlanta Dream
- ^ Ingemi, Marisa. "What's next for Golden State WNBA team? Timeline for name, GM, coach, roster". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ "Expansion Draft for 13th WNBA Franchise, Golden State Valkyries Set for December 6 on ESPN" (Press release). WNBA. September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ Henderson, Cydney; Horrow, Ellen J. (December 6, 2024). "WNBA expansion draft live updates: Golden State Valkyries pick their players for 2025". USA Today. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ Salao, Colin (2024-10-15). "WNBA Eyes 16th Team by 2028: Engelbert Evaluates Candidates". Front Office Sports. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
- ^ "Growing list of investors target WNBA expansion franchise". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-10-21.