WNBA draft: After Sabrina Ionescu goes No. 1, what happens?
After the New York Liberty select Oregon point guard Sabrina Ionescu with the first pick in the 2020 WNBA draft on Friday the big question is who will be the second pick?
The Dallas Wings will have plenty to say about who is selected in the top 10 spots because they have the second, fifth and seventh picks in the first round. The shuffle begins when the Wings are expected to choose between 6-foot-4 power forward Lauren Cox of Baylor, who is considered the safe bet, or Oregon small forward Satou Sabally, a 6-4 wing with the most potential.
The Indiana Fever presumably will take the forward the Wings pass on at No. 3, which leaves the Atlanta Dream at No. 4 choosing between a wing like Connecticut’s 6-1 Megan Walker or points guards such as 5-7 Chennedy Carter of Texas A&M and 5-10 Tyasha Harris of South Carolina.
Oregon likely will have a third player chosen in the top 10, with Dallas possibly pairing 6-4 power forward Ruthy Hebard with Sabally with the fifth or seventh selection. If the Wings select Cox at No. 2, they could end up selecting the best available point guard or Walker at No. 5.
Baylor power forward Lauren Cox has battled Type 1 Diabetes during a stellar career that will result in possibly being the second pick of the WNBA draft.
Other players expected to go in the first round to early second round include 5-8 shooting guard Te’a Cooper of Baylor, 6-1 shooting guard Kitija Laksa of South Florida, 5-5 point guard Crystal Dangerfield of Connecticut, 6-4 power forward Beatrice Mompremier of Miami, and five small forwards: 6-4 Bella Alarie of Princeton, 6-2 Kiah Gillespie of Florida State, 6-2 Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan of South Carolina, 6-3 Joyner Holmes of Texas and 6-0 Jocelyn Willoughby of Virginia.
Second-round selections are likely to include 5-10 shooting guard Mikayla Pivec of Oregon State, 5-10 point guard Stella Johnson of Rider, 5-11 small forward Tynice Martin of West Virginia and 6-5 center Brittany Brewer of Texas Tech.
The only local player with a chance to be selected is UCLA’s Japreece Dean, a 5-7 point guard on the bubble of the third round.
UCLA guard Japreece Dean was hoping a strong NCAA tournament would boost her chances of being drafted in the WNBA. She hopes her body of work is enough to convince a team.
The draft, which will be held remotely based out of Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s home, begins at 4 p.m. PDT Friday. It will be broadcast on ESPN.
WNBA draft order
First round
1) New York Liberty
2) Dallas Wings
3) Indiana Fever
4) Atlanta Dream
5) Dallas Wings
6) Minnesota Lynx
7) Dallas Wings
8) Chicago Sky
9) New York Liberty
10) Phoenix Mercury
11) Seattle Storm
12) New York Liberty
Second round
13) Atlanta Dream
14) Indiana Fever
15) New York Liberty
16) Minnesota Lynx
17) Atlanta Dream
18) Phoenix Mercury
19) Seattle Storm
20) SPARKS
21) Dallas Wings
22) SPARKS
23) Connecticut Sun
24) Washington Mystics
Third round
25) Atlanta Dream
26) New York Liberty
27) Atlanta Dream
28) Indiana Fever
29) Phoenix Mercury
30) Chicago Sky
31) Seattle Storm
32) Chicago Sky
33) Las Vegas Aces
34) SPARKS
35) Connecticut Sun
36) Washington Mystics
Internet reports and Associated Press contributed to this story.
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