WNBA Draft 2016 Countdown (11 Days): Seimone Augustus, No. 1 Pick, 2006


In the 20 days leading up to the 20th annual WNBA Draft, WNBA.com and @WNBA are highlighting the first 19 No. 1 overall picks and their place in league history. Our 20-day countdown continues with Seimone Augustus, the first selection in the 2006 WNBA Draft.

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With the first pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft, the Minnesota Lynx selected guard Seimone Augustus out of LSU, where she led the Lady Tigers to three straight Final Fours and was named National Player of the Year her junior and senior year.

A scoring machine in college, Augustus continued that practice immediately in the pros, as she finished second in the league in scoring as a rookie with a 21.9 points per game average. She was named rookie of the year and a reserve on the 2006 All-Star Game, where she scored 16 points for the West and won the Dribble, Dish and Swish skills challenge. This was the first of six All-Star appearances for Seimone.

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While Augustus continued to rack up the points in her first three seasons in Minnesota, the Lynx struggled to win games, finishing below .500 in each season. Early in the 2009 season, Augustus tore the ACL in her left knee, which cost her most of the season. An abdominal injury also cost her part of the 2010 season.

In 2011, with Augustus healthy and the addition of rookie phenom Maya Moore, the Lynx had a magical season, winning a franchise-record 27 games to finish atop the Western Conference. After dropping one game in their first round series with San Antonio, the Lynx would run the table the rest of the way, sweeping the Atlanta Dream to win their first WNBA championship. Augustus was named Finals MVP after averaging 24.7 points in a duel with Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry.

That was the first of three WNBA championships for Augustus and the Lynx as they have dominated the odd years in the 2010s – taking the title in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Can Augustus and the Lynx make it back-to-back titles this season?

Augustus enters her 11th WNBA season ranked 17th on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list (4,805 points), while her 18.2 points per game average ranks seventh all-time.

 

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