WNBA draft: Stanford’s Kiana Williams is taken by defending champion Seattle Storm
From one championship team to another, Stanford point guard Kiana Williams lands with the Seattle Storm on Thursday night in the WNBA draft.
From one championship team to another, Stanford point guard Kiana Williams landed with the Seattle Storm on Thursday night in the WNBA draft.
Williams was taken 18th overall as the sixth pick in the second round by the defending WNBA champion Seattle Storm. Williams helped guide the Cardinal to its third national championship earlier this month in her hometown of San Antonio.
Williams finished the season leading the team in points (14.0), assists (3.1), 3-pointers (82) and minutes played (32.3). Her name is littered throughout the record books, most notably setting Stanford’s career 3-point mark, finishing her time on The Farm with 311.
Named an All-American by the WBCA, Associated Press and USBWA as a senior, Williams never missed a game after stepping on campus, appearing in 137 with 128 consecutive starts to finish her career. She was named the 2021 NCAA Tournament Alamo Region Most Outstanding Player, as well as the Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 Pac-12 Tournament.
Her 1,834 career points rank 10th in program history, while her 464 career assists are good for ninth. Her 83.3% shooting percentage from the free-throw line is tied for the second-best in program history.
For the second straight season, the draft was held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced picks from an ESPN studio in New York and players were at home appearing virtually when they were drafted.
Fellow Pac-12 star Aari McDonald of Arizona, the conference player of the year, was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Dream.
Training camps open around April 25 and the season starts on May 14.