| 2010 WNBA draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | December 14, 2009 – April 8, 2010 |
| Location | Secaucus,New Jersey |
| Network(s) | ESPN2,NBATV,ESPNU |
| Overview | |
| League | WNBA |
| Merging teams | Sacramento Monarchs (folded in 2009) |
| First selection | Tina Charles Connecticut Sun |
The2010WNBAdraft is the league's annualprocess 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 onESPN2 (HD), while the second and third rounds were shown onNBA TV andESPNU.
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.
The lottery selection to determine the order of the top five picks in the 2010 Draft occurred on November 5, 2009, theMinnesota Lynx won the first pick, while theSacramento Monarchs andConnecticut 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 theprevious season.
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2010 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places:
| Team | 2009 record | Lottery chances | Pick | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |||
| Sacramento Monarchs | 12–22 | 420 | .420 | .302 | .181 | .097 | .000 |
| New York Liberty (toMinn.) | 13–21 | 261 | .261 | .284 | .246 | .200 | .008 |
| Minnesota Lynx | 14–20 | 167 | .167 | .207 | .263 | .315 | .048 |
| Connecticut Sun | 16–18 | 78 | .076 | .103 | .155 | .388 | .278 |
| Chicago Sky | 16–18 | 78 | .076 | .103 | .155 | .000 | .666 |
| Shaded block denotes actual lottery result. | |||||||
Source[1]
On November 20, 2009, the league announced that theSacramento Monarchs would no longer operate. A dispersal draft was held on December 14, 2009, with teams being allowed to pick in the following order.
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New team | Former team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicole Powell |  United States | New York Liberty | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 2 | Rebekkah Brunson | United States | Minnesota Lynx | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 3 | DeMya Walker | United States | Connecticut Sun | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 4 | Courtney Paris | United States | Chicago Sky | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 5 | Laura Harper | United States | San Antonio Silver Stars | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 6 | Kristin Haynie | United States | Washington Mystics | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 7 | Scholanda Robinson | United States | Tulsa Shock | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 8 | Passed | Los Angeles Sparks | Sacramento Monarchs | |
| 9 | Passed | Atlanta Dream | Sacramento Monarchs | |
| 10 | Chelsea Newton | United States | Seattle Storm | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 11 | Passed | Indiana Fever | Sacramento Monarchs | |
| 12 | Passed | Phoenix Mercury | Sacramento Monarchs | |
| Note: Three former Monarchs players,Kara Lawson,Hamchetou Maiga-Ba, andTicha Penicheiro were free agents and therefore not eligible for this draft. | ||||
| * | Denotesplayer who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game andAll-WNBA Team |
| + | Denotesplayer who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| Bold | Denotesplayer who won Rookie of the Year |
