The 2009WNBAdraft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 9, 2009. The first round was shown on ESPN2 (in HD for the first time ever) at 3:00pm ET, while the second and third rounds were shown on ESPNU and NBA TV at 4:00pm.
On December 1, 2008, the league announced that the Houston Comets would no longer operate. On December 8, a dispersal draft was held with teams being allowed to pick based on reverse order of 2008 records.