The @nyliberty have won the #WNBA Draft Lottery 2020 presented by @StateFarm.
Watch the full lottery drawing here! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/pm9aMyY2yo
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 17, 2019
LET’S GOOOOO!!!!!🗽 pic.twitter.com/rInD9Ov3ah
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) September 17, 2019
The New York Liberty has been on the clock since winning the draft lottery after the conclusion of the 2019 season and claiming the first overall pick. If the WNBA’s website is to be believed, we know the day the names of Sabrina Ionescu and others from the realm of women’s college hoops will transition from the amateur ranks to the pros.
According to the “Key Dates” section on WNBA.com, the 2020 WNBA draft is scheduled for April 17 – a Friday.
If April 17 is indeed the big day, that will be roughly two weeks after the conclusion of the Women’s Final Four at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Last year’s draft occurred only three days after Baylor defeated Notre Dame at Tampa’s Amalie Arena to win the 2019 national title. This season’s Final Four is set to conclude on April 5.
Ionescu is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick to New York, followed by Ionescu’s Oregon teammate Satou Sabally to the Dallas Wings, according to DraftSite.com. Lauren Cox is projected to go third to the Indiana Fever, but was slated to be selected second in one of its earlier mocks.
Texas A&M’s Chennedy Carter to the Atlanta Dream is tagged as the final lottery pick of the first round according to DraftSite, but it has the draft occurring on April 12.
Another interesting tidbit of the DraftSite mock is that it has Erica Ogwumike (Rice) being selected by the Los Angeles Sparks in the second round, meaning she would join older sisters Nneka and Chiney at Staples Center in Tinseltown.
The website does mention that dates are subject to change and to “stay tuned for additional updates.” The last two drafts occurred at New York City’s Nike headquarters. The fact that the site also has the correct dates listed for the start of free agent negotiations (Jan. 28) and free agent signings (Feb. 10) is reason to believe the credibility of that April 17 date.
