2017 WNBA Draft (April 13, 2017)
Sophia Young Malcolm’s retirement prior to the 2016 season meant another tough year for San Antonio as the Silver Stars finished with a 7-27 mark. They had the best odds of winning the number one pick, and the draft lottery delivered giving them the first selection for the first time since 1998 when the chose Margo Dydek.
San Antonio also had the fifth overall pick in the draft which they acquired from Phoenix on January 31, 2017, along with Isabelle Harrison, in a trade that sent Danielle Robinson to the Mercury.
With their own pick, the Stars selected the NCAAs all-time leading scorer, Kelsey Plum (pictured). Plum poured in 3,527 points in her four years at Washington and won a slew of awards, including the Dawn Staley, Ann Meyers Drysdale and Nancy Lieberman Awards, as well as the Naismith and Wade Trophies for national player of the year.
Plum was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team after averaging 8.5 points and 3.4 assists in 2017, and in 2021 she was named the WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year after averaging what was then a career-high 14.8 points, while coming off the bench in all of her 26 games.
She moved back into the starting lineup in 2022, and established a new career high averaging 20.2 points per game, and draining a franchise record 113 three-pointers.
Plum received her first All-Star nod that season, was named the game’s MVP, and received All-WNBA First Team honors for the first time at year’s end. She earned another trip to the All-Star Game the following season, and helped the Aces to back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023.
With the team’s second first round pick, San Antonio took Northwestern guard Nia Coffey. The four-time All-Big 10 selection finished with 2,287 points during her collegiate career, and was Northwestern’s career leader in rebounds and made free throws.
Coffey averaged 1.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 27 games as a rookie, improving those numbers to 5.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in her second season as the team moved to Las Vegas.
She has since spent time in Atlanta (2019, 2022-23), Phoenix (2020) and Los Angeles (2021).
The Stars didn’t have a second round pick, but in the third round, they selected Schaquilla Nunn from Tennessee, who did not make the team’s opening-day roster.