List of Oklahoma Sooners in the NBA and WNBA drafts
The University of Oklahoma men's basketball team has had 46 players drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) while the women's basketball team has had 14 players selected in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). This includes ten players taken in the first round of the NBA Draft and six players in the first round of the WNBA Draft. In 2009, Blake Griffin became the only Oklahoma basketball player to have been selected as the overall number one pick when he was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers. In the 2010s, nine Oklahoma players have been selected in their respective drafts. Five have been women: three in 2010, one in 2011, and one in 2013. The four men's players drafted in the decade have been Romero Osby in 2013, Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins in 2016, and Trae Young in 2018.
Each NBA and WNBA franchise seeks to add new players through their respective annual draft. The NBA uses a draft lottery to determine the first three picks of the NBA draft; the 14 teams that did not make the playoffs the previous year are eligible to participate. After the first three picks are decided, the rest of the teams pick in reverse order of their win–loss record.[1][2] To be eligible for the NBA draft, a player in the United States must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class.[3] From 1967 until the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, the American Basketball Association (ABA) held its own draft.[4] The WNBA Draft is similar to the NBA with a couple of exceptions. Only four WNBA teams are eligible for the draft lottery, compared to the 14 eligible teams in the NBA. Also, all non-playoff teams that participate in the draft lottery select their picks in the order of the lottery outcome; the remainder of the league selects in reverse order of their win–loss record.[5] The WNBA requires that players be at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the applicable seasons, have either graduated from a four-year university or have completed their intercollegiate basketball eligibility, or have played at least two seasons for another professional basketball league.[6]
Four former Sooner men have been selected to participate in an NBA All-Star Game: Alvan Adams, Mookie Blaylock, Blake Griffin, and Trae Young. Two women, Stacey Dales and Danielle Robinson, have been selected to participate in a WNBA All-Star Game. Three former Sooner men have won championships with their respective teams.
Key
[edit]| F | Forward | C | Center | G | Guard |
| # | Active in the NBA as of the 2022–23 season, or the WNBA as of the 2022 season | ||||
| * | Selected to an NBA/WNBA All-Star Game | ||||
| † | Won an ABA/NBA/WNBA championship | ||||
Player selection
[edit]NBA draft
[edit]
WNBA draft
[edit]
| Year | Rnd | Pick | Overall | Player name | Position | WNBA team[A 1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3 | 6 | 38 | Phylesha Whaley | F | Minnesota Lynx | — |
| 2002 | 1 | 3 | 3 | Stacey Dales* | G/F | Washington Mystics | All-Star (2002)[12] |
| 2002 | 1 | 14 | 14 | LaNeishea Caufield | G | Utah Starzz | — |
| 2002 | 1 | 16 | 16 | Rosalind Ross | G | Los Angeles Sparks | — |
| 2004 | 3 | 1 | 27 | Maria Villaroel | G | Phoenix Mercury | — |
| 2005 | 1 | 13 | 13 | Dionnah Jackson | F | Detroit Shock | — |
| 2007 | 3 | 2 | 28 | Leah Rush | F | Phoenix Mercury | — |
| 2009 | 1 | 7 | 7 | Courtney Paris† | C | Sacramento Monarchs | WNBA Champion (2018)[13] |
| 2009 | 2 | 9 | 22 | Ashley Paris | F | Los Angeles Sparks | — |
| 2010 | 2 | 7 | 19[14] | Amanda Thompson | F | Tulsa Shock | — |
| 2010 | 3 | 4 | 28 | Abi Olajuwon | C | Chicago Sky | — |
| 2010 | 3 | 12 | 36 | Nyeshia Stevenson | G/F | Phoenix Mercury | — |
| 2011 | 1 | 6 | 6 | Danielle Robinson*# | G | San Antonio Silver Stars | All-Star (2013,[15] 2014,[16] 2015[17]) |
| 2013 | 3 | 8 | 32 | Whitney Hand | G | San Antonio Silver Stars | — |
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- General
- "2009–10 Men's Basketball Media Guide". University of Oklahoma Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
- "NBA Draft Picks From University of Oklahoma". Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-11-26. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
- "All-Time WNBA Draft List". WNBA Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- Specific
- ^ "Evolution of the Draft and Lottery". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- ^ Dengate, Jeff (2007-05-16). "Let the Ping-Pong Balls Fall". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- ^ "Article X, Section 1(b)(i)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on 2010-01-25. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- ^ Pluto, Terry (1990). Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association. Simon & Schuster. p. 432. ISBN 1-4165-4061-X. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
- ^ "Atlanta Dream Win Top Pick in 2009 WNBA Draft". WNBA Enterprises, LLC. 2008-12-09. Archived from the original on 2009-12-11.
- ^ "Hoops 101: Reneé Brown". WNBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on 2010-08-14. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- ^ "1971–72 Indiana Pacers Roster and Statistics". Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- ^ "Magic rookie has big influence". The Sporting News. NBC Sports/MSNBC. 2005-01-19. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
[Ray] chuckles at Howard's salary, pointing out that when the Warriors won the championship in 1975 and he led the team in rebounding...
- ^ "NBA Rookie Award to Alvan Adams". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. The Associated Press. 1976-05-09. p. D9. Archived from the original on 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
...He was the leading write-in candidate in the fan balloting for the 1976 All-Star Game and was chosen for the team by the West coaches...
- ^ Schmidt, Andy (2007-07-31). "Ex-Bull Stacey King leadings A's". McHenryCountySports.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
The 40-year-old King, who was part of the Bulls' first three championship teams from 1991–93...
- ^ Frey, Jennifer (1994-02-02). "Ewing, Starks on All-Stars". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
...Starks and Ewing were joined by Atlanta's Mookie Blaylock and Dominique Wilkins...
- ^ Sandoval, Greg (2005-02-03). "Mystics Guard Announces Retirement". The Washington Post. p. D09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
...Dales-Schuman made the WNBA all-star team in 2002...
- ^ "2018 Seattle Storm Roster and Statistics". Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ "WNBA draft: LA Sparks take OSU's Riley No. 8; OU's Thompson headed to Tulsa". Tulsa World. 2010-04-08. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
- ^ Feinberg, Doug (July 27, 2013). "Parker scores record 23 to lead West over East". WNBA. Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013. See also the game box score Archived 2013-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, which lists Robinson as having played for the West team.
- ^ "Sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike Headline Reserves For Boost Mobile WNBA All-Star 2014" (Press release). WNBA. July 15, 2014. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
- ^ "Bird, Pondexter Highlight Reserves For Boost Mobile WNBA All–Star 2015" (Press release). WNBA. July 21, 2015. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.