WNBA Draft 2023: Date, start time, pick order, TV channel & more to know

Sara Tidwell

WNBA Draft 2023: Date, start time, pick order, TV channel & more to know image

The NCAA Women's March Madness spectacle has come to a never-before-seen ending.

The LSU Tigers walked away with heavy and shiny ring fingers after defeating the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 in Dallas for their program's first league title.

Now, with the hype around women's basketball brewing and bubbling hot, it's time to turn your attention to the WNBA. With NCAA and NBA in the offseason, who better to support than the W's 27th season?

In less than a week, the WNBA will draft some of the top players in the country, including projected No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston, who declared for the draft after South Carolina was bested in the Final Four by Iowa.

MORE: Everything to know about Aliyah Boston

Other big names who have enlisted themselves to go pro this year include: Diamond Miller (Maryland), Haley Jones (Stanford), Maddy Siegrist (Villanova), Alexis Morris (LSU), Lou Lopez Sénéchal (UConn), Grace Berger (Indiana) and Brea Beal and Zia Cooke (South Carolina), to name a few other potential first-rounders.

MORE: When is Caitlin Clark eligible for the WNBA? | When is Angel Reese eligible for the WNBA?

Here is a complete guide to the 2023 WNBA Draft including the date, start time, pick order, TV channel & more.

When is the WNBA Draft in 2023?

  • Date: Monday, April 10
  • Time: 7 p.m. ET

The 2023 WNBA Draft will be held on Monday, April 10, at 7 p.m. ET. The draft will be live from Spring Studios in New York City, the same venue as last year.

Prior to the Draft, the prospects invited to attend on-site will get a chance to visit the Empire State Building and participate in a special orange carpet ceremony.

The 2023 WNBA preseason will tipoff on Friday, May 5, and the regular season will follow suit exactly two weeks later on Friday, May 19.

ESPN and the WNBA announced a partnership in early March that laid out the groundwork for availability on the big screen. The broadcast giant will collaborate with the league to present up to 52 possible games, beginning with the regular season. There will be 25 highlighted national broadcasts and the WNBA All-Star Game will be airing live for the first time in primetime on ABC. 

MORE: Key dates for the 2023 WNBA season

WNBA Draft TV channel, how to live stream

  • TV channel: ESPN
  • Live stream: ESPN+ app, Sling TV

Fans can watch the 2023 WNBA Draft live on ESPN, and stream it through the ESPN+ app.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will be announcing the 36 selections live, and ESPN's lead team will be on the call – Ryan Ruocco (host), Rebecca Lobo and LaChina Robinson (analysts) and Holly Rowe (reporter).

MORE: Watch the WNBA Draft with Sling TV

2023 WNBA Draft order

The Indiana Fever holds the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history after winning the Draft Lottery in November 2022. Following them are the Minnesota Lynx at No. 2 and the Dallas Wings at No. 3, who traded with the Atlanta Dream and will round out the top three.

The remainder of the first round, as well as the second and third rounds, was determined in an inverse order of the regular-season records from the previous season. All teams will get at least one pick, the Lynx and Wings have the most at five a piece and the Sparks have the least at one.

Per ESPN's press release, there will be cameras inside seven of the team draft rooms, all of whom have a First Round pick, including:

  • Indiana
  • Minnesota
  • Dallas
  • Atlanta
  • Washington
  • Los Angeles
  • Seattle

The Fever and Lynx will also have content shared from their respective watch parties.

Here's the full order of picks, one through 36:

First-round

Number Team
1. Indiana Fever
2. Minnesota Lynx
3. Dallas Wings
4. Washington Mystics
5. Dallas Wings
6. Atlanta Dream
7. Indiana Fever
8. Atlanta Dream
9. Seattle Storm
10. Los Angeles Sparks
11. Dallas Wings
12. Minnesota Lynx

Second-round

Number Team
13. Indiana Fever
14. Los Angeles Sparks
15. Atlanta Dream
16. Minnesota Lynx
17. Indiana Fever
18. Seattle Storm
19. Dallas Wings
20. Washington Mystics
21. Seattle Storm
22. Connecticut Sun
23. Chicago Sky
24. Minnesota Lynx

Third-round

Number Team
25. Indiana Fever
26. Los Angeles Sparks
27. Phoenix Mercury
28. Minnesota Lynx
29. Phoenix Mercury
30. New York Liberty
31. Dallas Wings
32. Washington Mystics
33. Seattle Storm
34. Connecticut Sun
35. Chicago Sky
36. Las Vegas Aces

    WNBA Draft No. 1 overall pick history

    Here's the full list of No. 1 overall picks since the WNBA Draft was inaugurated in 1997:

    Year Player School/Club Selecting Team
    2022 Rhyne Howard Kentucky Atlanta Dream
    2021 Charli Collier Texas Dallas Wings
    2020 Sabrina Ionescu Oregon New York Liberty
    2019 Jackie Young Notre Dame Las Vegas Aces
    2018 A'ja Wilson South Carolina Las Vegas Aces
    2017 Kelsey Plum Washington San Antonio Stars*
    2016 Breanna Stewart Connecticut Seattle Storm
    2015 Jewell Loyd Notre Dame Seattle Storm
    2014 Chiney Ogwumike Stanford Connecticut Sun
    2013 Brittney Griner Baylor Phoenix Mercury
    2012 Nneka Ogqumike Stanford Los Angeles Sparks
    2011 Maya Moore Connecticut Minnesota Lynx
    2010 Tina Charles Connecticut Connecticut Sun
    2009 Angel McCoughtry Louisville Atlanta Dream
    2008 Candace Parker Tennessee Los Angeles Sparks
    2007 Lindsey Harding Duke Phoenix Mercury
    2006 Seimone Augustus LSU Minnesota Lynx
    2005 Janel McCarville Minnesota Charlotte Sting*
    2004 Diana Taurasi Connecticut Phoenix Mercury
    2003 LaToya Thomas Mississippi State Cleveland Rockers*
    2002 Sue Bird Connecticut Seattle Storm
    2001 Lauren Jackson Canberra (Australia) Seattle Storm
    2000 Ann Wauters US Valenciennes Olympic (France) Cleveland Rockers*
    1999 Chamique Holdsclaw Tennessee Washington Mystics
    1998 Margo Dydek Fota Porta Gdynia (Poland) Utah Starzz*
    1997 Tina Thompson USC Houston Comets*

    * No longer an official franchise team.

    Sara Tidwell

    Sara Tidwell Photo

    Sara Tidwell is an editorial intern with The Sporting News. A native to Michigan's Thumb region, she received her Bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Previous bylines include the Detroit News, Cincinnati Enquirer, Hartford Courant and The State News.