WNBA expansion draft
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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 player allocation
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New WNBA team | College/country/team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristin Folkl (F) | United States |
Minnesota Lynx | Stanford |
| 2 | Nykesha Sales (G/F) | United States |
Orlando Miracle | 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 | College/country/team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katie Smith (F) | United States |
Minnesota Lynx | Ohio State from Columbus Quest, ABL |
| 2 | Shannon Johnson (G/F) | United States |
Orlando Miracle | South Carolina from Columbus Quest, ABL |
2000: Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, Seattle Storm
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New WNBA team | Former WNBA team | College/country/team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gordana Grubin (G) |  FR Yugoslavia |
Indiana Fever | Los Angeles Sparks | MiZo Pecs (Hungary) |
| 2 | Edna Campbell (G) | United States |
Seattle Storm | Phoenix Mercury | Texas |
| 3 | Kate Starbird (G) | United States |
Miami Sol | Sacramento Monarchs | Stanford |
| 4 | Alisa Burras (F) | United States |
Portland Fire | Cleveland Rockers | Louisiana Tech |
| 5 | Sophia Witherspoon (G) | United States |
Portland Fire | New York Liberty | Florida |
| 6 | Sandy Brondello (G) |  Australia |
Miami Sol | Detroit Shock | BTV Wuppertal (Germany) |
| 7 | Sonja Henning (G) | United States |
Seattle Storm | Houston Comets | Stanford |
| 8 | Stephanie McCarthy (G) | United States |
Indiana Fever | Charlotte Sting | Purdue |
| 9 | Nyree Roberts (C) | United States |
Indiana Fever | Washington Mystics | Old Dominion |
| 10 | Angela Aycock (F) | United States |
Seattle Storm | Minnesota Lynx | Kansas |
| 11 | Debbie Black (G) | United States |
Miami Sol | Utah Starzz | St. Joseph's |
| 12 | Tari Phillips (C) | United States |
Portland Fire | Orlando Miracle | Florida |
| 13 | Coquese Washington (G) | United States |
Portland Fire | New York Liberty | Notre Dame |
| 14 | Sharon Manning (F) | United States |
Miami Sol | Charlotte Sting | North Carolina State |
| 15 | Nina Bjedov (C) | FR Yugoslavia |
Seattle Storm | Los Angeles Sparks | Basket Bees Pavia (Italy) |
| 16 | Rita Williams (G) | United States |
Indiana Fever | Washington Mystics | Connecticut |
| 17 | Kara Wolters (C) | United States |
Indiana Fever | Houston Comets | Connecticut |
| 18 | Toni Foster (F) | United States |
Seattle Storm | Phoenix Mercury | Iowa |
| 19 | Lesley Brown (F) | United States |
Miami Sol | Detroit Shock | Virginia |
| 20 | Molly Goodenbour (G) | United States |
Portland Fire | Sacramento Monarchs | Stanford |
| 21 | Jamila Wideman (G) | United States |
Portland Fire | Cleveland Rockers | Stanford |
| 22 | Yolanda Moore (F) | United States |
Miami Sol | Orlando Miracle | Mississippi |
| 23 | Charmin Smith (G) | United States |
Seattle Storm | Minnesota Lynx | Stanford |
| 24 | Chantel Tremitiere (G) | United States |
Indiana Fever | Utah Starzz | Auburn |
2006: Chicago Sky
On November 16, 2005, an expansion draft occurred to help fill the roster for the Chicago Sky.[1]
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Former WNBA team | College/country/team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jia Perkins (G) | United States |
Charlotte Sting | Texas Tech |
| 2 | Brooke Wyckoff (F) | United States |
Connecticut Sun | Florida State |
| 3 | Elaine Powell (G) | United States |
Detroit Shock | LSU |
| 4 | Kiesha Brown (G) | United States |
Houston Comets | Georgia |
| 5 | Deanna Jackson (F) | United States |
Indiana Fever | Alabama-Birmingham |
| 6 | Laura Macchi (F) |  Italy |
Los Angeles Sparks | Pool Comense (Italy) |
| 7 | Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert (F) | United States |
Minnesota Lynx | Purdue |
| 8 | DeTrina White (F) | United States |
New York Liberty | LSU |
| 9 | Ashley Robinson (C) | United States |
Phoenix Mercury | Tennessee |
| 10 | Chelsea Newton (G) | United States |
Sacramento Monarchs | Rutgers |
| 11 | Bernadette Ngoyisa (C) |  Republic of the Congo |
San Antonio Silver Stars | Congo |
| 12 | Francesca Zara (G) | Italy |
Seattle Storm | Napoli Basket Vomero (Italy) |
| 13 | Stacey Dales-Schuman (G) |  Canada |
Washington Mystics | Oklahoma |
2008: Atlanta Dream
On February 6, 2008, an expansion draft occurred to help fill the roster for the Atlanta Dream. The team also participated in the 2008 WNBA draft prior to the team's first season.[2]
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Former WNBA team | College/country/team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carla Thomas (F) | United States |
Chicago Sky | Vanderbilt |
| 2 | Érika de Souza (F) | Brazil |
Connecticut Sun | Spain |
| 3 | Katie Feenstra (C) | United States |
Detroit Shock | Liberty |
| 4 | Roneeka Hodges (F) | United States |
Houston Comets | Florida State |
| 5 | Ann Strother (G) | United States |
Indiana Fever | Connecticut |
| 6 | LaToya Thomas (G) | United States |
Los Angeles Sparks | Mississippi State |
| 7 | Kristen Mann (F) | United States |
Minnesota Lynx | UC Santa Barbara |
| 8 | Ann Wauters (C) |  Belgium |
New York Liberty | Valenciennes Olympic (France) |
| 9 | Jennifer Lacy (F) | United States |
Phoenix Mercury | Pepperdine |
| 10 | Kristin Haynie (G) | United States |
Sacramento Monarchs | Michigan State |
| 11 | Chantelle Anderson (C) | United States |
San Antonio Silver Stars | Vanderbilt |
| 12 | Betty Lennox (G) | United States |
Seattle Storm | Louisiana Tech |
| 13 | Yelena Leuchanka (F) |  Belarus |
Washington Mystics | West Virginia |
Source:[3]
2024: Golden State Valkyries
On December 6, 2024, an expansion draft occurred to help fill the roster for the expansion Golden State Valkyries. The team also participated in the 2025 WNBA draft prior to the team's first season in 2025.[4]
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.[5]
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Former WNBA team | College/country/team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iliana Rupert (C) |  France |
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:[6]
2026: Portland Fire, Toronto Tempo
Sometime prior to the 2026 season an expansion draft will occur that will help fill the rosters for the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo. The details and rules for this draft are currently unknown.
Future expansion
On June 30, 2025, the WNBA announced that it would expand to Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), and Philadelphia (2030), bringing the total to 18 teams.[7]