2020 WNBA Draft: Results and Analysis

The 2020 WNBA draft featured an emotional opening tribute, a no-brainer first pick, and more than a few surprising later-round selections. The action was streamed via a virtual telecast, with draftees across the country turning their living rooms into temporary broadcast studios. (If there’s one thing every player has in common, it appears to be fairly decent wi-fi.)

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a bit (or a while) to find out which teams made the most of their selections, as the league’s 24th season, originally scheduled to start May 15, has been indefinitely postponed due to the coronavirus. In the meantime, here are the biggest stories coming out of Friday night’s proceedings.

WNBA honors Alyssa Altobelli, Gigi Bryant and Payton Chester: 

The most emotional moment of the draft came before any selections had been officially made. Prior to the first pick, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelberg announced that Alyssa Altobelli, Gigi Bryant and Payton Chester had all been selected as honorary draftees. The three youth basketball teammates lost their lives in the January helicopter accident which also claimed the life of Kobe Bryant, who was likewise honored before the draft for his unfailing support of the WNBA.

Family members of all three honorary draftees, including Kobe’s widow Vanessa, spoke on behalf of the three girls, demonstrating remarkable strength and composure. Their pain was obvious, and yet their collective example was also a beacon of fortitude, and given our current world, it was powerful to witness such a display of dignity in the face of overwhelming loss.

Sabrina Ionescu goes No. 1 and signs with Nike

Surprising absolutely no one, the New York Liberty selected Oregon superstar Sabrina Ionescu with the first overall pick in the draft. Basketball’s biggest media market now has the sport’s biggest star, and while it’s unclear if Ionescu will have a chance to suit up for the Liberty this summer, it’s safe to say she’s already the face of the franchise. The hype is that real, and we’ve got the receipts to prove it: within an hour of being selected, Ionescu’s jersey had already sold out online.

Ionescu finished her NCAA career with a record 26 triple doubles (14 more than the next player, men’s or women’s), and is the only player (again, men’s or women’s) to ever record more than 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in a career. She famously reached that second milestone on the same day she spoke at the memorial of her mentor, Kobe Bryant.

“I think you need to look no further than the way that she’s handled herself in times of crisis to know what type of a leader she is,” said new Liberty coach Walt Hopkins, who was hired in January. “And what type of leader she could be at the next level.”

Before we get too caught up in speculating just how good Ionescu might be in the pros, it’s worth pausing to consider if she might just have completed the greatest college career in women’s basketball history.

“There’s never been one like her before and may never be another one,” said Oregon coach Kelly Graves. Of course, her resume has one big hole in it, given that Ionescu never won a national championship after being denied a golden opportunity this year due to COVID-19. But crazy as this may sound, the fact is a lot of players have won national championships. Ionescu, on the other hand, is in multiple clubs all by herself. (I mean, a champion will be crowned next year, whereas it’s legitimately a question as to whether anyone in our lifetime will come close to those 26 triple doubles.)

But while there wasn’t any doubt as to who the Liberty were going to take, there was a lot of speculation regarding who Ionescu was going to pick as a sponsor. In the end, she stuck with her roots, signing with the brand born at her alma mater, and whose headquarters is just up the road outside of Portland.

According to industry insiders, Ionescu’s compensation is the biggest in women’s professional basketball history. This is a huge win for the sport, which has seen so many of its most famous college talents lose visibility as they transfer to the pros. But Nike now has real skin in the game. The brand has more than enough resources to make Sabrina the face of women’s basketball, and judging by the paycheck they just cut, that’s exactly what they intend to do.

Dallas reloads 

Following Ionescu was her former running mate Satou Sabally, selected by the Dallas Wings with the second pick of the draft. This is the first time a school has produced the first two picks in the draft since 2016, when UConn’s Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson went 1-2.

Sabally is considered a unicorn, a versatile player who averaged 16.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in her final season at Oregon before declaring a year early for the draft. She’s the rare talent who both has a very high ceiling and yet can contribute immediately. Better yet, she’s a perfect on-court partner for Dallas cornerstone Arike Ogunbowale. Satally can both play off ball while also relieving Ogunbowale of having to do everything herself offensively.

Dallas owned three first round picks, and with the second, they took a risk, drafting Princeton forward Bella Alarie fifth overall. She’s only the second Ivy League player to ever be drafted this high, with many expecting her to slide after not having a chance to showcase her talent against more talented teams in the NCAA tournament. If Alarie can prove to be a consistent 3-point threat in the pros, however, her and Satally will hold down the forward positions for Dallas for years to come.

With the seventh pick of the draft, Dallas took South Carolina guard Tyasha Harris, filling a need at point guard. Harris is a pass-first floor general who finished in the top 1 perfect in assist rate in the NCAA this past season, making her a perfect compliment to the offensive threats Dallas already has.

Did Atlanta get the steal of the draft? 

It may seem strange to describe the fourth pick in any draft as underrated, but given the disproportionate amount of hype surrounding Ionescu and her teammates, Chennedy Carter certainly slipped under the radar this cycle, despite having the potential to be a bona-fide superstar in the WNBA. The Texas A&M guard is an elite scorer, having averaged over 20 points a game since she stepped foot on campus as a freshman. She’s not afraid to shoot, and given her ridiculous handles, as well as her underrated passing ability, she would have been one of the top 2 selections in just about any other draft.

Carter is going to win games for her team all by herself at the next level, but that same propensity for hero-ball is also cause for concern. Whether it’s deserved or not (and frankly, it probably isn’t), Carter has a reputation for occasionally playing like someone looking to fill up the stat sheet. In the grand scheme of things, such concerns are fairly trivial, especially when you consider both Carter’s sky-high potential. Surrounded by professional talent, she has the opportunity to be a perennial All-Star in this league, starting sooner than most of us are probably expecting.