Predicting the WNBA Draft: What Matters Most from College Performance?

Jill Harris
David J. Berri

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) utilizes a version of the reverse-order draft lottery similar to the NBA. While previous research has examined factors impacting the draft picks and subsequent professional performance in the NBA,1 we do not believe this subject has been explored for the WNBA. In fact, little has been published on this league. This particular study will build upon the work of Berri and Krautmann (2013), which presented a model of player performance for the WNBA. This work will be paired with the approach to the NBA draft introduced by Berri, Brook, and Fenn (2011). In the end, this research will explore both what factors determine draft position in the WNBA and how such factors relate to subsequent performance.