2018 WNBA Draft Results: Complete Round-by-Round Selections and Twitter Reaction

A'ja Wilson fell short of reaching a second straight Final Four with the South Carolina Gamecocks in March, but she had a lot to be happy about Thursday as she was the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2018 WNBA draft.

Wilson was widely expected to be the first name off the board. She helped lead South Carolina to a national title in 2017 and averaged 22.6 points and 11.8 rebounds per game in her senior year.

Below are the full results of the draft.

2018 WNBA Draft Results

First Round

1. Las Vegas Aces: A'ja Wilson, C, South Carolina
2. Indiana Fever: Kelsey Mitchell, G, Ohio State
3. Chicago Sky (via Dream): Diamond DeShields, G, Tennessee
4. Chicago Sky: Gabby Williams, F, Connecticut
5. Seattle Storm: Jordin Canada, G, UCLA
6. Dallas Wings: Azura Stevens, F, Connecticut
7. Washington Mystics: Ariel Atkins, G, Texas
8. Indiana Fever (via Mercury): Victoria Vivians, G, Mississippi State
9. Connecticut Sun: Lexie Brown, G, Duke
10. New York Liberty: Kia Nurse, G, Connecticut
11. Los Angeles Sparks: Maria Vadeeva, C, Russia
12. Phoenix Mercury (via Lynx): Marie Gulich, C, Oregon State

Second Round

13. Las Vegas Aces: Jaime Nared, F, Tennessee
14. Indiana Fever: Stephanie Mavunga, F, Ohio State
15. Atlanta Dream (via Sun): Monique Billings, F, UCLA
16. Atlanta Dream (via Sky): Kristy Wallace, G, Baylor
17. Minnesota Lynx (via Storm): Ji-Su Park, C, South Korea
18. Dallas Wings: Loryn Goodwin, G, Oklahoma State
19. Washington Mystics: Myisha Hines-Allen, F, Louisville
20. Phoenix Mercury: Tyler Scaife, G, Rutgers
21. Phoenix Mercury (via Sun): Raisa Musina, F, Russia
22. New York Liberty: Mercedes Russell, C, Tennessee
23. Los Angeles Sparks: Shakayla Thomas, F, Florida State
24. Minnesota Lynx: Kahlia Lawrence, G, Mercer

Third Round

25. Las Vegas Aces: Raigyne Louis, G, LSU
26. Phoenix Mercury (via Fever): Imani Wright, G, Florida State
27. Atlanta Dream: Mackenzie Engram, F, Georgia
28. Chicago Sky: Amarah Coleman, G, DePaul
29. Seattle Storm: Teana Muldrow, F, West Virginia
30. Dallas Wings: Natalie Butler, C, George Mason
31. Washington Mystics: Rebecca Greenwell, G, Duke
32. Las Vegas Aces (via Mercury): Jill Barta, F, Gonzaga
33. Connecticut Sun: Mikayla Cowling, F, California
34. New York Liberty: Leslie Robinson, F, Princeton
35. Los Angeles Sparks: Julia Reisingerova, C, Czech Republic
36. Minnesota Lynx: Carlie Wagner, G, Minnesota

The WNBA's official Twitter account showed Detroit Pistons star Blake Griffin congratulating Wilson on being the top pick:

SEC Network noted Wilson is now a part of an exclusive group of Gamecocks stars:

The Aces have an abundance of guards with Kelsey Plum, Moriah Jefferson, Alex Montgomery and Kayla McBride all competing for minutes, so Wilson was the obvious fit. Not only is she the best player in the 2018 class, but she also fills a clear need for Las Vegas.

Over the past three years, the Aces have combined to win 23 games. With a proven head coach in Bill Laimbeer and a promising group of young stars in Plum, McBride, Jefferson and Wilson, Las Vegas should inch closer to playoff contention in 2018.

Entering the draft, rumors surrounded the second overall pick. High Post Hoops' Howard Megdal reported the Washington Mystics had inquired about the availability of the selection, but the Associated Press' Doug Feinberg reported the Fever "had no serious discussions" about dealing the pick.

The Fever stayed at No. 2 and selected Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell, who scored the second-most points in NCAA history for the Buckeyes.

Indiana added Mitchell's teammate, Stephanie Mavunga, with the 14th overall pick in the second round. The Columbus Dispatch's Andrew Erickson noted Mavunga's connections to the Fever go deeper than Mitchell:

The first major surprise of the draft came when the Washington Mystics selected Texas guard Ariel Atkins with the seventh overall pick. Although Atkins flew under the radar, the Washington Post's Neil Greenberg noted the senior was an efficient offensive performer in 2017-18:

Whether or not the Mystics made a serious push for the second overall pick to try to add Mitchell, Washington clearly prioritized the guard position coming into the draft.

The Chicago Sky selected Diamond DeShields with the third overall pick. DeShields averaged 17.4 points and 6.4 rebounds for Tennessee in 2016-17 before leaving school to play overseas. According to Eurobasket, she's putting up 16.5 points per game in Turkey.

DeShields' brother, Texas Rangers center fielder Delino DeShields Jr., is a bit biased but thought the Sky made a great choice:

The Los Angeles Sparks added one of the more intriguing prospects in the 2018 class when they selected Russian center Maria Vadeeva.

Vadeeva averaged 18.4 points, 14.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots for Russia at the 2017 FIBA under-19 women's World Cup in 2017. At 6'4", she is somewhat undersized for the center position but turns just 20 in July.

Given the strength of the Sparks roster, they could afford to take a chance on Vadeeva near the end of the first round. The fact she's teammates with Nneka Ogwumike on Dynamo Kursk doesn't hurt:

From top to bottom, the 2018 draft class was stronger than usual.

Holding 2018 up to the standard of 2013—when Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins-Smith were the top three picks—is expecting a lot of the incoming crop of rookies. But fans can expect to see a handful of All-Stars emerge from the first two rounds of Thursday's draft.