Of these selections, 27 were in the first round of the draft; five players—Sue Bird in 2002, Diana Taurasi in 2004, Tina Charles in 2010, Maya Moore in 2011, and Breanna Stewart in 2016—were picked first overall.
[General] Each WNBA franchise seeks to add new players through their respective annual draft.
[2] In addition to the 45 draftees, two UConn women's basketball players—Rebecca Lobo in 1997 and Nykesha Sales in 1999—were allocated to specific teams during the initial formation of the WNBA.
[3] Sales was the first player for the expansion Orlando Miracle;[4] the team would later relocate and become the Connecticut Sun.
Several other UConn alumni have been named to All-WNBA teams or selected as WNBA All-Stars on multiple occasions.