2018 WNBA draft


The 2018 WNBA draft was the league's draft for the 2018 [WNBA season]. On March 12, the league announced the draft would be held on April 12 at Nike New York Headquarters, a recently opened secondary headquarters for the athletic apparel giant located in Midtown Manhattan.

Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2018 Draft was set to take place on September 14, 2017, but was delayed by the league to November 13.

Lottery chances

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2018 draft occurred on November 13, 2017. The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2016 and 2017 WNBA seasons. The San Antonio Stars, with the worst two-year record, were guaranteed no worse than the third pick. With the Stars relocating to Las Vegas, Las Vegas retained these best odds. All odds out of 1,000 based on percentages.
Note: Team selected for the No. 1 pick noted in bold text.
TeamCombined 2016–17 recordLottery chancesResult
Las Vegas Aces15–53 44.2%1st pick
Indiana Fever26–4222.7%2nd pick
Chicago Sky 29–3917.8%3rd pick
Chicago Sky30–3810.4%4th pick

This is the fifth time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds and second consecutive number 1 pick for Las Vegas.

Notable prospects

On November 7, 2017, the WNBA announced the following notable prospects for the 2018 draft:

Draft invitees

On April 6, 2018, the WNBA released the names of the players invited to be in attendance at the draft.

Viewership

The draft was telecast on ESPN2 and ESPNU. The draft had an average audience of 212,000, which was an increase of 25% compared to the 2017 WNBA draft. The first round experienced an increase of 13% compared to 2017, with an average audience of 308,000. The 2nd and 3rd rounds saw a 49% increase in average viewers compared to 2017. The 2018 draft was the most watched draft since 2014.