In 1997, the Women's National Basketball Association was created. In order to give new teams reasonable talent, the league decided to have two drafts. There was the normal collegiate draft that most professional sports leagues hold. There was also the WNBA elite draft. The elite draft allowed teams to pick players that have already graduated from college and have gone on to play professionally on other American teams or overseas.
The following is the list of how players were picked in the 1997 WNBA elite draft. After this draft, the normal collegiate draft took place.
Round 1
| 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 |
Round 2
| 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 |
References
- "WNBA, list". Idaho Spokesman-Review. March 1, 1997. pp. C4. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- "WNBA holds elite draft". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 28, 1997. pp. 3C.