# 2010 WNBA draft

The 2010 WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 8, 2010. The first round was shown on ESPN2 (HD), while the second and third rounds were shown on NBA TV and ESPNU.
A lottery was held on November 5, 2009. The Minnesota Lynx received the first overall selection of the draft. The Sacramento Monarchs received the number two selection. The Connecticut Sun came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Minnesota Lynx again at four, and the Chicago Sky at number five.
Since the Monarchs folded after the draft lottery took place, their pick was simply eliminated.

## Draft lottery

The lottery selection to determine the order of the top five picks in the 2010 Draft occurred on November 5, 2009, the Minnesota Lynx won the first pick, while the Sacramento Monarchs and Connecticut Sun were awarded the second and third picks respectively. The remaining first-round picks and all the second- and third-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss records in the previous season.
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2010 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places:
| Team | 2009 record | Lottery chances | Pick | Pick | Pick | Pick | Pick |
| Team | 2009 record | Lottery chances | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
| Sacramento Monarchs | 12–22 | 420 | .420 | .302 | .181 | .097 | .000 |
| New York Liberty (to Minn.) | 13–21 | 261 | .261 | .284 | .246 | .200 | .008 |
| Minnesota Lynx | 14–20 | 167 | .167 | .207 | .263 | .315 | .048 |
| Connecticut Sun | 16–18 | 78 | .076 | .103 | .155 | .388 | .278 |
| Chicago Sky | 16–18 | 78 | .076 | .103 | .155 | .000 | .666 |
| Shaded block denotes actual lottery result. ||||||||

## Transactions

* January 30, 2009: The Washington Mystics receive the second-round pick from the Minnesota Lynx as part of the Lindsey Harding transaction.
* March 26, 2009: The Los Angeles Sparks receive the first-round pick from the Phoenix Mercury as part of the Temeka Johnson transaction.
* May 5, 2009: The Minnesota Lynx receive the first-round pick from the New York Liberty (via L.A.) as part of the Sidney Spencer/Noelle Quinn transaction.
* November 20, 2009: The league announces the folding of the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs' picks in the draft were simply eliminated.
* January 12, 2010: The Connecticut Sun receive the first overall pick in exchange for the second overall pick from the Minnesota Lynx as part of the Lindsay Whalen/Renee Montgomery transaction.
Source

## Dispersal draft

On November 20, 2009, the league announced that the Sacramento Monarchs would no longer operate. A dispersal draft was held on December 14, 2009, with teams being allowed to pick in the following order.
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New team | Former team |
| 1 | Nicole Powell | United States | New York Liberty | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 2 | Rebekkah Brunson | United States | Minnesota Lynx | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 3 | DeMya Walker | United States | Connecticut Sun | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 4 | Courtney Paris | United States | Chicago Sky | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 5 | Laura Harper | United States | San Antonio Silver Stars | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 6 | Kristin Haynie | United States | Washington Mystics | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 7 | Scholanda Robinson | United States | Tulsa Shock | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 8 | Passed | | Los Angeles Sparks | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 9 | Passed | | Atlanta Dream | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 10 | Chelsea Newton | United States | Seattle Storm | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 11 | Passed | | Indiana Fever | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 12 | Passed | | Phoenix Mercury | Sacramento Monarchs |
| Note: Three former Monarchs players, Kara Lawson, Hamchetou Maiga-Ba, and Ticha Penicheiro were free agents and therefore not eligible for this draft. |||||

## Key

| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-WNBA Team |
| $^+$ | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| Bold | Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year |

## College draft
### Round 1

| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
| 1 | Tina Charles $^+$ | United States | Connecticut Sun (from N.Y, via L.A., via Minn.) | Connecticut |
| 2 | Monica Wright | United States | Minnesota Lynx (from Conn.) | Virginia |
| 3 | Kelsey Griffin | United States | Minnesota Lynx (traded to Conn.) | Nebraska |
| 4 | Epiphanny Prince $^+$ | United States | Chicago Sky | Rutgers/Turkey |
| 5 | Jayne Appel $^+$ | United States | San Antonio Silver Stars | Stanford |
| 6 | Jacinta Monroe | United States | Washington Mystics | Florida State |
| 7 | Danielle McCray | United States | Connecticut Sun (from Tul.) | Kansas |
| 8 | Andrea Riley | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Oklahoma State |
| 9 | Chanel Mokango | DR Congo | Atlanta Dream | Mississippi State |
| 10 | Alison Lacey | Australia | Seattle Storm | Iowa State |
| 11 | Jené Morris | United States | Indiana Fever | San Diego State |
| 12 | Bianca Thomas | United States | Los Angeles Sparks (from Phx.) | Ole Miss |

### Round 2

| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
| 13 | Kalana Greene | United States | New York Liberty | Connecticut |
| 14 | Jenna Smith | United States | Washington Mystics (from Minn.) | Illinois |
| 15 | Allison Hightower $^+$ | United States | Connecticut Sun | LSU |
| 16 | Ashley Houts | United States | New York Liberty (from Chi.) | Georgia |
| 17 | Alysha Clark | Israel | San Antonio Silver Stars | Middle Tennessee |
| 18 | Shanavia Dowdell | United States | Washington Mystics | Louisiana Tech |
| 19 | Amanda Thompson | United States | Tulsa Shock | Oklahoma |
| 20 | Angel Robinson | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Georgia |
| 21 | Brigitte Ardossi | Australia | Atlanta Dream | Georgia Tech |
| 22 | Tanisha Smith | United States | Seattle Storm | Texas A&M |
| 23 | Armelie Lumanu | DR Congo | Indiana Fever | Mississippi State |
| 24 | Tyra Grant | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Penn State |

### Round 3

| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
| 25 | Cory Montgomery | United States | New York Liberty | Nebraska |
| 26 | Gabriela Marginean | Romania | Minnesota Lynx | Drexel |
| 27 | Johannah Leedham | Great Britain | Connecticut Sun | Franklin Pierce |
| 28 | Abi Olajuwon | United States | Chicago Sky | Oklahoma |
| 29 | Alexis Rack | United States | San Antonio Silver Stars | Mississippi State |
| 30 | Alexis Gray-Lawson | United States | Washington Mystics | California |
| 31 | Vivian Frieson | United States | Tulsa Shock | Gonzaga |
| 32 | Rashidat Junaid | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Rutgers |
| 33 | Brittainey Raven | United States | Atlanta Dream | Texas |
| 34 | Tijana Krivačević | Serbia/ Hungary | Seattle Storm | MKB Euroleasing Sopron (Hungary) |
| 35 | Joy Cheek | United States | Indiana Fever | Duke |
| 36 | Nyeshia Stevenson | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Oklahoma |