2007 WNBA Dispersal Draft (January 8, 2007)
The Charlotte Sting franchise ceased operation following the 2006 season, and San Antonio had the fourth pick in the dispersal draft that followed in January. With that selection, they took point guard Helen Darling. She played four seasons with the Silver Stars as both a reserve and a starter. Her best year in silver and black was her first, when she averaged 4.1 points and 3.1 assists, while connecting on 36.6 percent of her three-point field goal attempts.
2007 WNBA Draft (April 4, 2007)
The 2007 WNBA Draft forever changed the history of the Silver Stars—not for whom the team selected in the draft, but for the trade that ensued immediately thereafter.
San Antonio had the second pick in the draft having moved up two spots in the order during the Draft Lottery. With that selection, the Silver Stars took Ohio State center Jessica Davenport and dealt her, along with a 2008 first round pick, to the New York Liberty in exchange for three-time All-Star guard Becky Hammon and a second round pick in 2008.
Davenport would go on to play six years in the league—two with the Liberty and four with the Indiana Fever—primarily as a reserve. Her best season came in 2011 when she averaged 10.7 points and 4.8 rebounds. For her career, Davenport averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds while connecting on 50.8 percent of her field goal attempts.
Hammon turned the Silver Stars into an instant title contender. In her first season in the lone star state, she recorded career highs with 18.8 points and 5.0 rebounds while connecting on 40.4 percent of her shots from beyond the arc.
The Silver Stars increased their win total from 13 to 20, and advanced to the postseason for the first time in five years. Hammon garnered her first All-WNBA First-Team selection in the process.
The following year, San Antonio posted the best record in the league at 24-10, and advanced to the WNBA Finals for the first time where they were swept in three games by the Detroit Shock.
Hammon played eight seasons in all in San Antonio earning three All-Star selections. In 2011, she was named one of the top 15 players of all time by the league, and she has since been named to the WNBA’s Top 20@20 in 2016, and the W25 in 2021.
In 2014, Hammon retired from the WNBA, and was named the first female assistant coach in the history of the NBA when she was hired by the San Antonio Spurs.
In the second round of the 2007 WNBA Draft the Silver Stars selected North Carolina’s Camille Little. The 6-2 forward played just one season in San Antonio, where she averaged 3.9 points and 4.5 rebounds.
She played the first half of the 2008 season with the Atlanta Dream, before finally finding a home in Seattle with the Storm. Little remained in Seattle through the 2014 season, and averaged double figures in scoring in five of six years beginning in 2009. In 2010, she helped the Storm to the WNBA Championship averaging 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds during their postseason run.
Little played for the Connecticut Sun in 2015 and 2016, and her final three seasons in the league (2007-19) were spent with the Phoenix Mercury. For her career, Little averaged 8.2 points, and 4.2 rebounds over 431 games.
In the third round of the draft, San Antonio selected Virginia Tech’s Nare Diawara. The 6-6 center averaged a double-double during her senior year, but was waived during the preseason.