For the second time in the past four WNBA drafts, a team will have the No. 1 pick in consecutive seasons. The Dallas Wings won the WNBA draft lottery on Sunday evening, securing the top pick for the second year in a row.
The lottery was uneventful. No team moved up in the draft, so the Minnesota Lynx will pick second, the Seattle Storm third, the Washington Mystics fourth and the Chicago Sky fifth. The expansion Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire will have the sixth and seventh picks, but how that will be decided has yet to be determined.
The Mystics own a the most first-round picks with three: Nos. 4, 9 and 11.
The draft is scheduled for April 13.
“Huge momentum moment for our franchise,” Wings General Manager Curt Miller said. “Exciting times with our young corps and new facilities coming on board and a new coach.
“A lot goes into this one with an expansion draft of two teams on the horizon [and an] unprecedented free agency will all play into [the decision at No. 1]. The great thing about this draft is a lot of optionality.”
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This is the fifth time in league history a team has received the first pick in back-to-back seasons, and three times it has been the precursor to a future championship. The Fever was the most recent before the Wings, and it selected Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark in 2023 and 2024 to lay a foundation that is expected to keep Indiana as a contender for years to come.
In 2017, the San Antonio Stars had the first pick and selected Kelsey Plum. The franchise then relocated to Las Vegas and became the Aces, and it chose A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young with the No. 1 pick the next two years. Since, Las Vegas has won three championships and advanced to four Finals.
The Seattle Storm were blessed with back-to-backs twice, first in 2001 and 2002 and then in 2015 and 2016. The former produced Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird and the franchise’s first pair of championships. The latter brought Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart and two more titles.
The Wings selected Paige Bueckers No. 1 overall in 2025, and she was named an all-star, all-WNBA and rookie of the year after she averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals. An elite running mate could set up the Wings up for contention in the future.
This year’s draft appears deep enough that each of the lottery teams should come away with a strong prospect.
Most analysts have Lauren Betts (UCLA), Olivia Miles (TCU), Awa Fam (Spain), Azzi Fudd (Connecticut), Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina) and Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU) as a clear-cut top six.
Betts has long been the presumed No. 1 overall pick. The 6-foot-7 center averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds as a junior and led the Bruins to their first Final Four. Her numbers are down a bit in 2025-25 — 15.2 points, 7.5 rebounds — but UCLA arguably has a better and deeper team.
Miles entered Sunday seventh in the nation with a career-high 7.6 assists per game and is believed to the best point guard in the country. She was expected to be a top three pick in the 2025 draft out of Notre Dame but is averaging career highs in points (17.6) and steals (3.0) in her first year at TCU.
Fudd is widely considered the top shooter in country after she was named the 2025 NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player when the Huskies won the title last season. The 5-11 guard entered Sunday averaging career highs in points (21.0) and three-point percentage (54.8) for No. 1 U-Conn.
Fam is the unicorn of the draft — a 6-4 center with guard skills and mobility — and her stock is rising. She projects as an elite defender and may have the highest ceiling in the class.
“She has a face-up game. She’s 6-4. She can shoot the basketball. She’s crafty. She has a beautiful pivot,” ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike said during the broadcast.
Latson led the nation in scoring (25.2 points per game) last season for Florida State. The 5-8 pure scorer transferred to South Carolina to further develop her overall game, and it’s no surprise her overall numbers have dipped to 18.2 points, 3.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Her shots per game have gone from 19.5 to 10.8, but she is shooting a career-high 60 percent from the field.
Johnson is the No. 1 option for the Tigers after she played behind first-round picks Aneesah Morrow and Angel Reese for the past three seasons. The Associated Press all-American has averaged 17.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while posting career highs in assists (3.7), field goal percentage (55.9) and three-point percentage (57.1) through six games.
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