When Game 1 of the WNBA Semi-Finals between Las Vegas and Seattle tipped off on Sunday, seven of the ten players on the court were former No. 1 overall picks in the WNBA Draft.

That moment not only had never happened in the WNBA’s 26-year history, it had never happened in the NBA’s 76-year history. Seeing this much top-tier talent sharing a basketball court is something usually reserved for an All-Star Game, the Olympics, or a video game. But on Sunday, history was made in a game that lived up to the hype and has everyone excited for Wednesday’s Game 2.

Before we discuss what happened in Game 1 and look ahead to Game 2, we have to dig into the data to show just how rare it is for all of these former No. 1 picks to share the court.

Looking back through WNBA history, we have to go back an entire decade to come close to repeating this feat. In 2012, the Western Conference first-round matchup between the top-seed Minnesota Lynx and fourth-seeded Seattle Storm featured six former No. 1 picks: Seimone Augustus (2006) and Maya Moore (2011) for Minnesota; Ann Wauters (2000 by Cleveland), Lauren Jackson (2001), Sue Bird (2002) and Tina Thompson (1997 by Houston) for Seattle. The Lynx won that best-of-three in three games and eventually made the Finals before falling to Indiana.

Seattle is the only team in league history to tout four No. 1 overall picks on its roster. This 2022 squad is the second time they have done so after the mid-season acquisition of Tina Charles (2010 by Connecticut) to join Bird, Jewell Loyd (2015), and Breanna Stewart (2016).

Because of Bird’s longevity, the Storm have enjoyed more seasons with multiple No. 1 overall picks than any other franchise. Since Bird joined the Storm in 2002, Seattle has had at least two No. 1 overall picks in all but three of the past 21 seasons (2012, 2013, and 2019 being the exceptions, with Bird missing the latter two seasons due to injury). Seattle’s first two titles, in 2004 and 2010, featured the dynamic duo of Bird and Jackson after they were selected in consecutive years.

This year’s Las Vegas squad features three former No. 1 overall picks – selected in consecutive years from 2017 to 2019: Kelsey Plum (2017), A’ja Wilson (2018), and Jackie Young (2019). This is the fourth straight year that the Aces have had three top overall picks on the roster – while Plum missed the 2020 season due to an Achilles tear, the Aces added Angel McCoughtry (2009) to the roster that season. 

This season, Las Vegas has the only roster with three former No. 1 picks, meaning this matchup with Seattle was the only way to set the record – but having a trio of top picks has happened 19 times in league history – with all 19 coming out of the Western Conference:

• Seattle: 5 times (2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021)
• Los Angeles: 5 times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020) 
• Las Vegas: 4 times (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Minnesota: 4 times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016) 
• Phoenix: 1 time (2016)

We examined the strong connection between No. 1 overall picks and team championships in the leadup to this year’s WNBA Draft. Of the 25 championship teams in league history, 17 have had at least one No. 1 overall pick on their roster, and nine of those 17 have featured at least two No. 1 overall picks:

• 2004 (Seattle): Bird (2002) and Jackson (2001)
• 2011 (Minnesota): Augustus (2006) and Moore (2011)
• 2013 (Minnesota): Augustus, Moore, and Janel McCarville (2005)
• 2014 (Phoenix): Taurasi (2004) and Brittney Griner (2013)
• 2015 (Minnesota): Augustus and Moore
• 2016 (Los Angeles): Candace Parker (2008), Nneka Ogwumike (2012), Ann Wauters (2000)
• 2017 (Minnesota): Augustus and Moore
• 2018 (Seattle): Bird, Loyd (2015) and Stewart (2016)
• 2020 (Seattle): Bird, Loyd, and Stewart

 Entering this year’s draft, No. 1 overall picks had combined to win 30 league titles, 10 MVPs, and 104 All-Star selections. We can already add nine more All-Stars to that mark to bring the total to 113. We’ll likely add another MVP to that list, as Stewart and Wilson are considered the heavy favorites to win the league’s top individual honor. There is also a three-in-four chance that the league champion will tout at least one No. 1 overall pick, as Connecticut is the only team in the Semi-Finals without one.

Mid-season acquisition Odyssey Sims is Connecticut’s most highly drafted player (No. 2 in 2014), with Alyssa Thomas (No. 4 in 2014) as the only other lottery pick on the roster.

While the Storm vs. Aces Semi-Final features seven former No. 1 picks, the other Semi-Final between the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun has just one in 2008 top pick Candace Parker. We’ll begin our look back at Sunday’s games from the eight No. 1 overall picks in the Semi-Finals with Parker’s performance for the ages.

Chicago

Candace Parker (2008): Parker posted a stat line that has never been seen in WNBA history (regular season or playoffs) as she finished with 19 points, 18 rebounds, six blocks, five assists, and four steals in 35 minutes, but it came in a loss as the Sun outlasted the Sky 68-63 to take Game 1.

Seattle

Sue Bird (2002): Already the all-time leader in regular season assists, Bird took over the top spot in playoff assists from Lindsay Whalen as she dished out 12 dimes with no turnovers to help the Storm steal home-court advantage with a 76-73 win in Las Vegas.

Tina Charles (2010): The mid-season acquisition proved her worth in Game 1 as she collected a Storm playoff-record 18 rebounds – besting the previous record set by Jackson in 2010 – to go with 13 points in the win.

Jewell Loyd (2015): The Gold Mamba scored 10 of her game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of clutch buckets to give the Storm the lead (a 3-point shot with 1:45 to play) and the final basket of the game (a step-back 20-footer over Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson). 

Breanna Stewart (2016): Stewart’s all-around game shined as she finished with 24 points, six boards, three blocks, two assists, and a steal in 37 minutes as she outdueled Wilson in the battle of MVP candidates.

Las Vegas

Kelsey Plum (2017): This year’s All-Star Game MVP finished with 20 points and had a good look to make it 23 and send the game to overtime as the Aces executed a perfect ATO to get Plum an open look that just didn’t drop.

A’ja Wilson (2018): Wilson led the Aces with 12 rebounds and three blocks but finished with just eight points (tying her season low) on 3-of-10 shooting.

Jackie Young (2019): This year’s Most Improved Player finished with 11 points on just six shots and tied for the team-high with five assists.

Longtime WNBA reporter Brian Martin writes articles on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.