The 1997 WNBA Draft was the first annual draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three different stages in which teams built their rosters. First on January 22, 1997, the Initial Player Allocation draft took place in which 16 players were assigned to each team in no particular order. The Elite Draft portion comprised professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. On February 27, 1997, an Elite Draft added two more players to each team. On April 28, 1997 the four rounds of the regular WNBA draft took place.
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| Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
The Elite draft portion was composed of professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. It was the first time where the teams could draft the players out of a talent pool.
| Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dena Head (G) | United States | Utah Starzz | Tennessee |
| 2 | Isabelle Fijalkowski (C/F) | France | Cleveland Rockers | Colorado |
| 3 | Rhonda Mapp (C/F) | United States | Charlotte Sting | North Carolina State |
| 4 | Kym Hampton (C/F) | United States | New York Liberty | Arizona State |
| 5 | Wanda Guyton (F) | United States | Houston Comets | South Florida |
| 6 | Judy Mosley-McAfee (F) | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | Hawaii |
| 7 | Bridget Pettis (F) | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Florida |
| 8 | Daedra Charles (C) | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee |
| Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Wendy Palmer (F) | United States | Utah Starzz | Virginia |
| 10 | Lynette Woodard (G) | United States | Cleveland Rockers | Kansas |
| 11 | Michi Atkins (F) | United States | Charlotte Sting | Texas Tech |
| 12 | Vickie Johnson (F) | United States | New York Liberty | Louisiana Tech |
| 13 | Janeth Arcain (F) | Brazil | Houston Comets | Brazil |
| 14 | Mikiko Hagiwara (G) | Japan | Sacramento Monarchs | Japan |
| 15 | Nancy Lieberman-Cline (G) | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Old Dominion |
| 16 | Zheng Haixia (C) | China | Los Angeles Sparks | China |
| Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tina Thompson (F) | United States | Houston Comets | Southern California |
| 2 | Pamela McGee (C) | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | Southern California |
| 3 | Jamila Wideman (G) | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Stanford |
| 4 | Eva Nemcova (G) | Czech Republic | Cleveland Rockers | Czech Republic |
| 5 | Tammi Reiss (G) | United States | Utah Starzz | Virginia |
| 6 | Sue Wicks (F) | United States | New York Liberty | Rutgers |
| 7 | Tora Suber (G) | United States | Charlotte Sting | Virginia |
| 8 | Toni Foster (F/C) | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Iowa |
| Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Tia Jackson (G/F) | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Iowa |
| 10 | Sharon Manning (C/F) | United States | Charlotte Sting | North Carolina State |
| 11 | Sophia Witherspoon (G) | United States | New York Liberty | Florida |
| 12 | Jessie Hicks (F/C) | United States | Utah Starzz | Maryland |
| 13 | Merlakia Jones (G/F) | United States | Cleveland Rockers | Florida |
| 14 | Tamecka Dixon (G) | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Kansas |
| 15 | Denique Graves (C) | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | Howard |
| 16 | Tammy Jackson (F/C) | United States | Houston Comets | Florida |
| Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Racquel Spurlock (C) | United States | Houston Comets | Louisiana Tech |
| 18 | Chantel Tremitiere (G) | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | Auburn |
| 19 | Katrina Colleton (G) | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Maryland |
| 20 | Tina Nicholson (G) | United States | Cleveland Rockers | Penn State |
| 21 | Raegan Scott (F/C) | United States | Utah Starzz | Colorado |
| 22 | Trena Trice (F/C) | United States | New York Liberty | North Carolina State |
| 23 | Debra Williams (G) | United States | Charlotte Sting | Louisiana Tech |
| 24 | Umeki Webb (G/F) | United States | Phoenix Mercury | North Carolina State |
| Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Monique Ambers (F) | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Arizona State |
| 26 | Andrea Congreaves (F/C) | United Kingdom | Charlotte Sting | Mercer |
| 27 | Kisha Ford (G/F) | United States | New York Liberty | Georgia Tech |
| 28 | Kim Williams (G) | United States | Utah Starzz | DePaul |
| 29 | Anita Maxwell (F) | United States | Cleveland Rockers | New Mexico State |
| 30 | Travesa Gant (C) | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Lamar |
| 31 | Tajama Abraham (C) | United States | Sacramento Monarchs | George Washington |
| 32 | Catarina Pollini (F) | Italy | Houston Comets | Italy |
| Expansion Drafts • First overall picks | ||||||||||
| 1990s | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | |||||||
| 2000s | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| 2010s | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |||||||
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| Draft • Championship | ||||
| Eastern | Charlotte Sting | Cleveland Rockers | Houston Comets | New York Liberty |
| Western | Los Angeles Sparks | Phoenix Mercury | Sacramento Monarchs | Utah Starzz |
| WNBA season • 1998 → | ||||