Paige Bueckers‘s status as the overall first pick in the WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings might be the worst kept secret in sports at the moment, but just how many players are picked for the top level of women’s basketball each year? How many rounds are there? What happens to those who aren’t picked?
In total, there are three rounds to the Draft, and it has been that way since 2003, bar a brief expansion Draft in 2006, meaning that everyone is well familiar of how it works by now.
The Draft works in a snake pattern, meaning that the team who picks first will then pick last in the next round and so on. This is to ensure that all teams get a chance to pick fairly, without the leading few teams in the order possessing a hegemony on the crop.
The Draft order is determined by a combination of factors such as team records, trades, and a Draft lottery. Teams with poorer records typically have higher Draft picks, this is so that the talent is recycled throughout the league and struggling teams can obtain a valuable trade asset or someone to build a team around in the future.
It’s why sports containing the Draft are usually so dynamic with teams enjoying successful periods and barren periods throughout the decades, although it doesn’t completely get around the spending power of the richest sides.
How many players get drafted in the WNBA?
Overall, 36 players will be picked up in the Draft but it’s rare for many of them to actually go on and make it.
That’s because the rosters are only 12 players deep and many don’t even reach 12 so they can remain under the salary cap imposed by the league.
For many undrafted players, they won’t ever get a shot in the game, and this is where their careers in the American system will likely end. They’ll probably go abroad in order to forge a new path, if they can afford it.
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