The Sparks added two sharpshooters in the first round of the WNBA draft on Thursday, picking Alabama forward Jasmine Walker seventh overall and North Carolina guard Stephanie Watts with the 10th selection.
Walker, a 6-foot-3 forward, holds Alabama’s single-game scoring record, dropping 41 in a win at Auburn last season. She shot 39.8% from 3-point range as a senior while leading the Crimson Tide with 19.1 points.
Watts has history in L.A. already, having spent one of her six years in college as a graduate transfer at USC in 2019-20. But she played only four games after battling an injury and transferred back to UNC as a graduate student. Watts was the 2016 ACC freshman of the year with the Tar Heels and was the team’s second-leading scorer in 2020-21 with 12 points per game. She is a career 32.5% 3-point shooter at UNC.
The Sparks led the WNBA in 3-point percentage last year at 39.8%, but ranked only 10th in 3-point shots taken. After losing forward-center Candace Parker and point guard Chelsea Gray in free agency, the Sparks will build around forward Nneka Ogwumike.
The Dallas Wings, which had three first-round picks Thursday, loaded up on frontcourt talent. Texas center Charli Collier went first overall and 19-year-old Finnish national team member Awak Kuier followed at No. 2 to the Wings, who then added Arkansas guard Chelsea Dungee with the fifth pick.
Arizona star Aari McDonald vaulted to third overall after a standout NCAA Tournament, during which she led the Wildcats to the championship game, and will team with second-year guard Chennedy Carter for the Atlanta Dream. Carter was the fourth overall pick in 2020.
UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere went sixth overall to the New York Liberty, where she will team with former Pac-12 rival Sabrina Ionescu. Onyenwere averaged 19.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a senior, helping the Bruins to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She was selected a third-team All-American by the Associated Press for the second straight year and earned a third consecutive All-Pac-12 honor.
Point guards Kysre Gondrezick (West Virginia) and Shyla Heal (Australia) went fourth to the Indiana Fever and eighth to the Chicago Sky, respectively.
Tennessee forward Rennia Davis was expected to be a top-five pick, but slipped to ninth, where she was selected by the Minnesota Lynx.
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