WNBA Draft: Rhyne Howard to Dream at No. 1, NaLyssa Smith to Fever
Who's got next?
A new generation of stars are set to enter the WNBA Monday night through the draft.
With the WNBA season set to begin on May 6, these draftees will be taking the court soon.
Here are the top moments from the 2022 WNBA Draft
Top pick
With the first pick in the draft, the Atlanta Dream selected Rhyne Howard out of the University of Kentucky.
The senior guard averaged 20.5 points and 7.4 rebounds this past season at Kentucky. She averaged at least 20.5 PPG each of her final three seasons.
It's getting hot
With the second pick, the Indiana Fever selected NaLyssa Smith from Baylor University.
The 6-foot-2 forward averaged 22.1 PPG and 11.5 RPG as a senior.
Headed to the nation's capital
After averaging 15.2 PPG and 9.0 RPG this past season at Ole Miss, Shakira Austin is headed to Washington to play for the Mystics after being selected with the third overall pick.
Rounding out the top five
With their second pick in the draft, the Indiana Fever selected Louisville forward Emily Engstler with the fourth overall pick.
She was followed by Nyara Sabally being selected fifth overall by the New York Liberty.
Fever pitch
If there was one team that dominated the early portion of the draft, it was the Fever. They had four of the first 10 picks in the draft, and rounded out their monster haul early with the selections of Lexie Hull with the sixth overall pick and Queen Egbo with the 10th pick.
A national champion is picked
It took a while, but a member of the national champion South Carolina Gamecocks was finally selected in the second round of the draft.
Point guard Destanni Henderson was selected with the eighth pick of the second round by the Indiana Fever.
Continuing the legacy
The UConn Huskies women's basketball program is the most historic program in all of women's college basketball, consistently producing high-level professional players.
In the second round of the draft, two more Huskies entered the WNBA when Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook were both drafted.
Complete draft results
First round
1) Atlanta Dream: Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
2) Indiana Fever: NaLyssa Smith, Baylor
3) Washington Mystics: Shakira Austin, Ole Miss
4) Indiana Fever: Emily Engstler, Louisville
5) New York Liberty: Nyara Sabally, Oregon
6) Indiana Fever: Lexie Hull, Stanford
7) Dallas Wings: Veronica Burton, Northwestern
8) Las Vegas Aces: Mya Hollingshed, Colorado
9) Los Angeles Sparks: Rae Burrell, Tennessee
10) Indiana Fever: Queen Egbo, Baylor
11) Las Vegas Aces: Kierstan Bell, FGCU
12) Connecticut Sun: Nia Clouden, Michigan St.
Second round
13) Las Vegas Aces: Khayla Pointer, LSU
14) Washington Mystics: Christyn Williams, UConn
15) Atlanta Dream: Naz Hillmon, Michigan
16) Los Angeles Sparks: Kianna Smith
17) Seattle Storm: Elissa Cunane, NC State
18) New York Liberty: Lorela Cubaj, Georgia Tech
19) Los Angeles Sparks: Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn
20) Indiana Fever: Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
21) Seattle Storm: Evina Wetbrook, UConn
22) Minnesota Lynx: Kayla Jones, NC State
23) Las Vegas Aces: Aisha Sheppard, Virginia Tech
24) Connecticut Sun: Jordan Lewis, Baylor
Third round
25) Indiana Fever: Ameshya Williams-Holliday, Jackson State
26) Phoenix Mercury: Maya Dodson, Notre Dame
27) Los Angeles Sparks: Amy Atwell, Hawai’i
28) Minnesota Lynx: Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota
29) New York Liberty: Sika Kone, Mali
30) Dallas Wings: Jasmine Dickey, Delaware
31) Dallas Wings: Jazz Bond, North Florida
32) Phoenix Mercury: Macee Williams, IUPUI
33) Seattle Storm: Jade Melbourne, Australia
34) Indiana Fever: Ali Patberg, Indiana
35) Las Vegas Aces: Faustine Aifuwa, LSU
36) Connecticut Sun: Kiara Smith, Florida
