1997 WNBA Draft Overview
The 1997 WNBA Draft was the first chance teams had to build their rosters. To help teams, there were three different drafts. The first was an Initial Player Allocation draft. That was followed by an Elite Draft, which was made up professional players. Then college draft finished up the roster making process.
Initial Player Allocation
| Team |
Player |
Position |
College |
| Charlotte Sting |
Vicky Bullett |
C |
Maryland |
| Charlotte Sting |
Andrea Stinson |
G |
North Carolina State |
| Cleveland Rockers |
Janice Lawerence Braxton |
C |
Louisiana Tech |
| Cleveland Rockers |
Michelle Edwards |
G |
Iowa |
| Houston Comets |
Sheryl Swoopes |
F |
Texas Tech |
| Houston Comets |
Cynthia Cooper |
G |
USC |
| Los Angeles Sparks |
Lisa Leslie |
C |
USC |
| Los Angeles Sparks |
Penny Toler |
G |
Long Beach State |
| New York Liberty |
Rebecca Lobo |
C/F |
Connecticut |
| New York Liberty |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
G |
Louisiana Tech |
| Phoenix Mercury |
Michele Timms |
G |
Australia |
| Phoenix Mercury |
Jennifer Gilom |
C |
Mississippi |
| Sacramento Monarchs |
Ruthie Bolton-Holifield |
G |
Auburn |
| Sacramento Monarchs |
Bridgette Gordon |
F |
Tennessee |
| Utah Starzz |
Elena Baranova |
C/F |
Russia |
| Utah Starzz |
Lady Hardmon |
G |
Georgia |
Elite Draft
First Round
| Pick |
Team |
Player |
Position |
College |
| 1 |
Utah Starzz |
Dena Head |
G |
Tennessee |
| 2 |
Cleveland Rockers |
Isabelle Fijalkowski |
C/F |
Colorado |
| 3 |
Charlotte Sting |
Rhonda Mapp |
C/F |
North Carolina State |
| 4 |
New York Liberty |
Kym Hampton |
C/F |
Arizona State |
| 5 |
Houston Comets |
Wanda Guyton |
F |
South Florida |
| 6 |
Sacramento Monarchs |
Judy Mosley-McAfee |
F |
Hawaii |
| 7 |
Phoenix Mercury |
Bridget Pettis |
F |
Florida |
| 8 |
Los Angeles Sparks |
Daedra Charles |
C |
Tennessee |
Second Round
| Pick |
Team |
Player |
Position |
College |
| 1 |
Utah Starzz |
Wendy Palmer |
F |
Virginia |
| 2 |
Cleveland Rockers |
Lynette Woodard |
G |
Kansas |
| 3 |
Charlotte Sting |
Michi Atkins |
F |
Texas Tech |
| 4 |
New York Liberty |
Vickie Johnson |
F |
Louisiana Tech |
| 5 |
Houston Comets |
Janeth Arcain |
F |
Brazil |
| 6 |
Sacramento Monarchs |
Mikiko Hagiwara |
G |
Japan |
| 7 |
Phoenix Mercury |
Nancy Lieberman-Cline |
G |
Old Dominion |
| 8 |
Los Angeles Sparks |
Haixia Zheng |
C |
China |
College Draft
First Round
| Pick |
Team |
Player |
Position |
College |
| 1 |
Houston Comets |
Tina Thompson |
F |
USC |
| 2 |
Sacramento Monarchs |
Pamela McGee |
C |
USC |
| 3 |
Los Angeles Sparks |
Jamila Wideman |
G |
Stanford |
| 4 |
Cleveland Rockers |
Eva Nemcova |
G |
Czech Republic |
| 5 |
Utah Starzz |
Tami Reiss |
G |
Virginia |
| 6 |
New York Liberty |
Sue Wicks |
F |
Rutgers |
| 7 |
Charlotte Sting |
Tora Suber |
G |
Virginia |
| 8 |
Phoenix Mercury |
Toni Foster |
F/C |
Iowa |
Second Round
| Pick |
Team |
Player |
Position |
College |
| 9 |
Phoenix Mercury |
Tia Jackson |
G/F |
Iowa |
| 10 |
Charlotte Sting |
Sharon Manning |
C/F |
North Carolina State |
| 11 |
New York Liberty |
Sophia Witherspoon |
G |
Florida |
| 12 |
Utah Starzz |
Jessie Hicks |
F/C |
Maryland |
| 13 |
Cleveland Rockers |
Merlakia Jones |
G/F |
Florida |
| 14 |
Los Angeles Sparks |
Tamecka Dixon |
G |
Kansas |
| 15 |
Sacramento Monarchs |
Denique Graves |
C |
Howard |
| 16 |
Houston Comets |
Tammy Jackson |
F/C |
Florida |
Third Round
| Pick |
Team |
Player |
Position |
College |
| 17 |
Houston Comets |
Raquel Spurlock |
C |
Louisiana Tech |
| 18 |
Sacramento Monarchs |
Chantel Tremitiere |
G |
Auburn |
| 19 |
Los Angeles Sparks |
Katrina Colleton |
G |
Maryland |
| 20 |
Cleveland Rockers |
Tina Nicholson |
G |
Penn State |
| 21 |
Utah Starzz |
Raegan Scott |
F/C |
Colorado |
| 22 |
New York Liberty |
Trena Trice |
F/C |
North Carolina State |
| 23 |
Charlotte Sting |
Debra Williams |
G |
Louisiana Tech |
| 24 |
Phoenix Mercury |
Umeki Webb |
G/F |
North Carolina State |
Fourth Round
| Pick |
Team |
Player |
Position |
College
|
| 25 |
Phoenix Mercury |
Monique Ambers |
F |
Arizona State |
| 26 |
Charlotte Sting |
Andrea Congreaves |
F/C |
Mercer |
| 27 |
New York Liberty |
Kisha Ford |
G/F |
Georgia Tech |
| 28 |
Utah Starzz |
Kim Williams |
G |
DePaul |
| 29 |
Cleveland Rockers |
Anita Maxwell |
F |
New Mexico State |
| 30 |
Los Angeles Sparks |
Travesa Gant |
C |
Lamar |
| 31 |
Sacramento Monarchs |
Tajama Abraham |
C |
George Washington |
| 32 |
Houston Comets |
Catarina Pollini |
F |
Italy |
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