1997 WNBA draft
The 1997 WNBA draft was the inaugural draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three different stages in which teams built their rosters. First on January 22, 1997, the Initial Player Allocation draft took place in which 16 players were assigned to each team in no particular order. The elite draft portion comprised professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. On February 27, 1997, an elite draft added two more players to each team. On April 28, 1997, the four rounds of the regular WNBA draft took place. Draftees Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson would become the core pieces of the Houston Comets dynasty.
Key
| PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
| ! | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-WNBA Team |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| x | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-WNBA Team |
| # | Denotes player who never played in the WNBA regular season or playoffs |
Initial player allocation
Elite draft
The elite draft portion was composed of professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. It was the first time where the teams could draft the players out of a talent pool.
College draft
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1997 WNBA draft but played at least one game for the WNBA.
| Player | Position | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcie Alberts | G |  United States
|
Ohio State |
| Jenny Boucek[1] | G | United States
|
Virginia |
| Janice Braxton[2] | F | United States
|
Louisiana Tech |
| Rushia Brown[3] | F | United States
|
Furman |
| Linda Burgess[4] | F | United States
|
Alabama |
| Michelle Edwards | G | United States
|
Iowa |
| Pietra Gay[5] | G/F |  Trinidad and Tobago
|
LSU |
| Kim Gessig[6] | F | United States
|
USC |
| Nekeshia Henderson | G | United States
|
Texas |
| Mwadi Mabika | G/F |  Zaire
|
Tourbillon Kinshasa (Congo) |
| Yolanda Moore | F | United States
|
Ole Miss |
| Kim Perrot | PG | United States
|
Southwestern Louisiana |
| Tiffany Woosley | G | United States
|
Tennessee |
References
- ^ http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/jenny_boucek.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20010305025641/http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/janice_braxton.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20010415021010/http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/rushia_brown.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20010220211709/http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/linda_burgess.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/19980208062146/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/pietra_gay.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20010712172125/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/kim_gessig.html
- "All-Time WNBA Draft List". WNBA. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - "WNBA Elite Draft". WNBA. Archived from the original on April 16, 1997. Retrieved August 6, 2016.