2023 WNBA draft is April 10 and to be televised exclusively on ESPN

The 2023 WNBA draft will be held on Monday, April 10. It will be exclusively televised on ESPN from 7-9 p.m. EST and available on the ESPN app.

According to the WNBA’s website, fans have a myriad of ways to get involved with the draft and follow along:

Launching in March, “Draft Central” on wnba.com will enable fans to access multiple offerings in the days leading up to the draft. Elements will include an interactive draft board; prospect profiles with insights powered by SAP; in-depth features on the top draft prospects; coverage of all draft events; and more.

Fans will also be able to access an array of content across @WNBA channels that will include the unique stories and personalities of the prospects via Instagram and Tik Tok; a Twitter Spaces mock draft debate; cross platform live coverage including the “Orange Carpet” and more.

The draft consists of three rounds and 36 picks. The WNBA only has a total of 144 roster spots, so the higher a player is picked the larger likelihood they will make a roster. Only a small percentage of players who are drafted end up making a WNBA roster.

The league is looking to expand in the next few years, but currently has no concrete plans for the addition of roster spots. Leagues like Athletes Unlimited provide 44 more roster spots for elite basketball players to play domestically, but many opine it is still not enough to harness the sheer talent of women’s basketball players in the United States.

However, the top picks of the draft are almost guaranteed a spot. The last 10 No. 1 overall draft picks were:

2013: Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury

2014: Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut Sun

2015: Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm

2016: Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm

2017: Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces (formerly San Antonio Stars)

2018: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

2019: Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces

2020: Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty

2021: Charli Collier, Dallas Wings

2022: Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream

The WNBA held its 22nd annual draft lottery on Nov. 11 to determine the complete order. The Indiana Fever received the first pick, the Minnesota Lynx have the second pick, the Atlanta Dream are third and the Washington Mystics (via Los Angeles Sparks) round it out with the fourth pick in the draft.

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The full lineup of picks for the first round is below:

Pick

Team

1

Indiana Fever

2

Minnesota Lynx

3

Atlanta Dream

4

Washington Mystics (via Los Angeles)

5

Chicago Sky (via Phoenix)

6

New York Liberty

7

Indiana Fever (via Dallas)

8

Atlanta Dream (via Washington)

9

Seattle Storm

10

Connecticut Sun

11

Dallas Wings (via Chicago)

12

Minnesota Lynx (via Las Vegas)

This year’s draft class is exceptionally talented with South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston leading the way. She is projected to go No. 1 overall in the draft and when you look at just her 2022 accomplishments, not to mention her whole career, it is hard to disagree.

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Story originally appeared on Rookie Wire