2020 was never going to be like any other WNBA Draft. The draft was held virtually during the pandemic across the world, but the environment was charged with excitement. Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon University’s brightest guard, went number one overall to the New York Liberty.
But it wasn’t only her on-court supremacy that rendered this moment so iconic—it was the emotional context. Only a few months earlier, the basketball community had lost one of its all-time greats, Kobe Bryant, and his daughter, Gianna, in a devastating helicopter accident.
In 2024, the WNBA Draft saw another first, with Caitlin Clark being picked first overall by the Indiana Fever. Clark is a tale that has fascinated the country. Clark was known for her electrifying three-point shooting and ability to take over games.
If the 2024 WNBA Draft represented the new yardstick of visibility, then 2013 marked a new dawn on the way superstars redefine their league.
It was the beginning with three powerful players considered among the finest in modern WNBA history: Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne, and Skylar Diggins, whom drafters coined the “Three to See,” with the trio serving as the top three draft choices.
Candace Parker’s draft as the No. 1 overall pick in 2008 was historic—not only for the WNBA but for the game of basketball in general. After her leadership of the University of Tennessee to consecutive national championships in 2007 and 2008, Parker entered the draft as one of the most hyped prospects in basketball history.
And sometimes, it’s not the household name or the highlight reels of a career that make the WNBA Draft one for the ages—it’s the pure, unadulterated emotion.
For Destanni Henderson in 2022, when she was selected by the Indiana Fever with the No. 20 pick overall, that became one that will forever be remembered in draft history. Henderson, who had been a significant contributor to the University of South Carolina, was visibly shaken and ecstatic when her name was announced.
