The 2024 WNBA draft is Monday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark is essentially considered a lock as the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever. If so, she will join a list of 27 other players who have had their name selected first in the WNBA draft, which began in 1997, the league’s inaugural year.
The majority of No. 1 picks have paid off for the WNBA teams that selected them. Eight former No. 1 picks have combined to win 13 MVP awards; 16 have won at least one WNBA championship.
The No. 1 picks come from 16 different U.S. colleges and three foreign countries. Clark would be the first No. 1 pick from Iowa and the second from a Big Ten school.
Some of the top picks spent their entire careers with one team, others have moved around. The less successful No. 1s generally came in draft classes that weren’t strong overall. There are a few cases where the top pick didn’t turn out to be the best player in her draft class.
When we previously ranked the No. 1 picks, which was before the 2020 draft, some big names were…
 to Aliyah Boston (2023), we rank the No. 1 WNBA draft picks before presumptive No. 1 Caitlin Clark hears her name called.){kind=link}