2017 WNBA Draft

[Aluminny69]

Just interested, who were the winners and losers of last year's draft. Here's what happened:

1 San Antonio Stars Kelsey Plum 31 games, 23 mpg, 8.5 ppg,
2 Chicago Sky (from Washington) Alaina Coates DNP
3 Dallas Wings Evelyn Akhator 15 games, 4.1 mpg, 0.9 ppg
4 Dallas Wings (from Connecticut via LA) Allisha Gray ROY, received 30 of 40 votes
5 San Antonio Stars (from Phoenix) Nia Coffey 27 games, 7.8 mpg, 1.8 ppg
6 Washington Mystics (from Seattle) Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 27 games, 12.4 mpg, 4.4 ppg
7 Atlanta Dream Brittney Sykes received 10 votes for ROY
8 Connecticut Sun (from Indiana) Brionna Jones 23 games, 6.4 mpg, 2.9 ppg
9 Chicago Sky Tori Jankoska DNP
10 Dallas Wings (from New York) Kaela Davis 33 games, 15.5 mpg, 6.1 ppg
11 Los Angeles Sparks (from LA via Dallas) Sydney Wiese 28 games, 7.9 mpg, 2.3 ppg
12 Minnesota Lynx Alexis Jones 29 games, 7.3 mpg, 2.6 ppg

 

[JordyG]

Actually, figuring the real winners and losers of any draft takes about 3-5 years. Time (aside from "best") is mediocrity's greatest enemy.

 

[Roger G]

Great reminder post. I had forgotten that Akhator was taken third. I knew her scoring was dismal. That's one of the players that Natalie will have to compete against for a spot on the Wings. I think Natalie would average more than a point a game.

Overall, however, Dallas had a very good draft with Davis and Gray. (1)

Atlanta's Sykes was a nice surprise. (2)

Los Angeles did pretty well with getting Wiese in the eleventh spot. She's in the USA pool. (3)

Plum looks like a keeper for San Antonio. Probably Coffey too. (4)

Those are the top four to me.

 

[Bigboote]

Based on last year, I’d give it to the Wings. Don’t forget, they also got Chong, who definitely made a positive contribution, in the third round. She was among the top ten rookies in several categories.

 

[bballnut90]

Just interested, who were the winners and losers of last year's draft. Here's what happened:

1 San Antonio Stars Kelsey Plum 31 games, 23 mpg, 8.5 ppg,
2 Chicago Sky (from Washington) Alaina Coates DNP
3 Dallas Wings Evelyn Akhator 15 games, 4.1 mpg, 0.9 ppg
4 Dallas Wings (from Connecticut via LA) Allisha Gray ROY, received 30 of 40 votes
5 San Antonio Stars (from Phoenix) Nia Coffey 27 games, 7.8 mpg, 1.8 ppg
6 Washington Mystics (from Seattle) Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 27 games, 12.4 mpg, 4.4 ppg
7 Atlanta Dream Brittney Sykes received 10 votes for ROY
8 Connecticut Sun (from Indiana) Brionna Jones 23 games, 6.4 mpg, 2.9 ppg
9 Chicago Sky Tori Jankoska DNP
10 Dallas Wings (from New York) Kaela Davis 33 games, 15.5 mpg, 6.1 ppg
11 Los Angeles Sparks (from LA via Dallas) Sydney Wiese 28 games, 7.9 mpg, 2.3 ppg
12 Minnesota Lynx Alexis Jones 29 games, 7.3 mpg, 2.6 ppg

This was one of the worst drafts in league history IMO. To be honest, I'm not sure anyone would've gone higher than 7th this draft. If Wilson, Deshields, Stevens, Mitchell, or Williams went in the draft they would've been the #1 overall pick. Akhator likely isn't a first rounder, although it was a surprise she was taken so early in 2017. If Gray/Davis didn't come out early, it would've been even worse. Still too early to tell on several players though. We haven't seen any of Coates, Plum got into a groove late in the year, Sykes was good, Gray was steady and Davis was a little up and down but showed good potential.

I would not be shocked to see a lot of these players cut from rosters. Coffey, Walker-Kimbrough, Wiese, Jones and Akhator were all underwhelming. 2018 and 2019 should produce a lot of strong pro talent.