2007 WNBA draft

The 2007 WNBA Draft was the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league.

The first phase, held January 8, 2007 via conference call, was a dispersal draft from the roster of the Charlotte Sting, which folded on January 3. This was the first dispersal draft since before the 2004 season, after the Cleveland Rockers folded. The teams selected in inverse order of their 2006 won-loss record, without regard to the results of the WNBA draft lottery. All Sting players were available except for unrestricted free agents Allison Feaster and Tammy Sutton-Brown.

The main draft was held on April 4, 2007, inside the Renaissance Hotel on Cleveland's Public Square, the day after the 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament ended.

The previous year's draft was held in Boston the night before the championship game of the 2006 NCAA women's basketball tournament, which was also in Boston. This marked the first WNBA draft ever held outside of New Jersey.

2010 WNBA draft

The 2010 WNBA Draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 8, 2010. The first round was shown on ESPN2 (HD), while the second and third rounds were shown on NBA TV and ESPNU.

A lottery was held on November 5, 2009. The Minnesota Lynx received the first overall selection of the draft. The Sacramento Monarchs received the number two selection. The Connecticut Sun came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Minnesota Lynx again at four, and the Chicago Sky at number five.

Since the Monarchs folded after the draft lottery took place, their pick was simply eliminated.

Dispersal Draft

On November 20, 2009, the league announced that the Sacramento Monarchs would no longer operate. A dispersal draft was held December 14, 2009 with teams being allowed to pick in the following order.

Draft Lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top five picks in the 2010 Draft occurred on November 5, 2009 The Minnesota Lynx won the first pick, while the Sacramento Monarchs and Connecticut Sun were awarded the second and third picks respectively. The remaining first-round picks and all the second- and third-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win-loss records in the previous season.

2011 WNBA draft

The 2011 WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 11, 2011 at the ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut. The first round was shown on ESPN (HD), while the second and third rounds were shown on NBA TV and ESPNU.

Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2011 draft occurred on November 2, 2010. The Minnesota Lynx won the first pick, while the Tulsa Shock, Chicago Sky and Lynx were awarded the second, third and fourth picks respectively. The remaining first-round picks and all the second- and third-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win-loss records in the previous season.

Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2010 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places:

Invited players

The WNBA announced on April 6, 2011 that 15 players had been invited to attend the draft. Unless indicated otherwise, all players listed are Americans who played at U.S. colleges.

2008 WNBA draft

The 2008 WNBA Draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 9, 2008.

A lottery was held on October 23, 2007. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first overall selection of upcoming 2008 draft. The Chicago Sky received the number two selection. The Minnesota Lynx came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Atlanta Dream expansion franchise at four, the Houston Comets at number five, and the Washington Mystics at number six. Some of the top draftees were Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Candice Wiggins, Crystal Langhorne, and Tasha Humphrey.

Top pick Candace Parker went on to become the first WNBA player ever to be the league's Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. 4th pick Alexis Hornbuckle became the first person to win a National Championship in college (with the University of Tennessee)) and a WNBA title (with the Detroit Shock) in the same calendar year.