Prep for WNBA draft by reliving key WNBA Finals and playoff games

The WNBA draft will be held virtually Friday night and air on ESPN at 7 ET. Names such as Sabrina Ionescu, Lauren Cox and Satou Sabally will be called.

What are they hoping for? A championship. And what better way to relive those championship moments than by re-airing some recent classics.

ESPN2 will air four thrilling WNBA postseason games from the past few years on Thursday night beginning at 6 ET. And after Friday's draft, ESPN will replay Game 5 of the 2019 WNBA Finals between the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun.

Thursday's schedule

6 p.m.: 2016 WNBA Finals Game 1

• Game 1 between the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx had lots of drama, and it came down to the final second. But it wasn't Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, Maya Moore or Sylvia Fowles who decided it. It was Alana Beard who hit the game-winning corner jumper at the buzzer to give the Sparks a crucial road victory.

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8 p.m.: 2018 WNBA semifinals Game 5

• Breanna Stewart scored 28 points, but this Seattle Storm-Phoenix Mercury matchup was all about the showdown between fellow UConn legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. Bird scored 14 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter as Seattle won and advanced to the Finals.

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10 p.m.: 2018 WNBA playoffs Round 2

• Another elimination game, another time when Taurasi wouldn't back down. She, Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner combined for 77 of the Mercury's 96 points as they beat the Connecticut Sun to advance to the semifinals.

Midnight: 2016 WNBA Finals Game 5

• Arguably one of the best winner-take-all basketball games that happened over the past decade. There were 11 ties and 24 lead changes, including three in the final 20 seconds. In the end, Nneka Ogwumike's putback fadeaway gave the Sparks the lead with 3.1 seconds remaining as Los Angeles would win its first championship.

Friday's schedule

7 p.m.: WNBA draft

• The WNBA draft will be held in the Bristol studio with commissioner Cathy Engelbert announcing the picks.

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9 p.m.: 2019 WNBA Finals Game 5

• Elena Delle Donne played through an injury that caused her to miss the second half of Game 2. But while the league MVP had 21 points and 9 rebounds, Emma Meesseman came off the bench to drop 22 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks as she was named Finals MVP in helping the Mystics win the championship.