Although the novel coronavirus outbreak has put all live sports on pause, both the WNBA and the NFL elected to go through with their respective drafts virtually. With NFL’s scheduled to start on April 23, the WNBA was the first to kick things off on Friday.
The draft started with the WNBA paying tribute to Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant and Payton Chester, who died in the plane crash that also took the life of Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Kobe Bryant. The league selected them as honorary draftees.
After the tribute, the New York Liberty were on the clock. Also owned by Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai, Barclays Center’s WNBA team took Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu — which was far from a surprise.
The WNBA pays tribute to the lives of Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant and Payton Chester by selecting them as honorary draftees in the #WNBADraft 2020. pic.twitter.com/AqpZnc4xfo
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 17, 2020
Once the pick was made official, Ionescu received congratulations from someone she will likely cross paths with from time-to-time at Barclay Center. Kevin Durant.
Welcome to Brooklyn @sabrina_i20!! https://t.co/MbMRJp6fPV
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) April 17, 2020
There will be no shortage of talent at Barclay Center on any given night once pro sports are allowed to continue play.