The Dallas Wings have won the 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery and will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft next spring. This is the second year in a row that the Wings have won the top pick. Last year they selected Paige Bueckers, who went on to win 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Franchises winning the No. 1 pick in back-to-back years has become a trend in the WNBA over the last decade. The Wings are the fourth team to have back-to-back No. 1 picks since 2015, joining the Seattle Storm (2015, 2016), Las Vegas Aces (2017, 2018, 2019) and Indiana Fever (2023, 2024).
The Wings had the best odds to receive the top pick at 42%, so it was no surprise when they won. In fact, the lottery wound up going chalk. The Minnesota Lynx will pick No. 2, followed by the Storm, Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky. Per the WNBA, this is the fifth time in league history that the lottery results matched the order of chances held by the lottery teams.
2026 WNBA Draft first round order
Note: The expansion Tempo and Fire will be slotted in after the lottery. A coin flip will determine which team picks No. 6 and which team picks No. 7.
- Dallas Wings
- Minnesota Lynx (via Chicago)
- Seattle Storm (via Los Angeles)
- Washington Mystics
- Chicago Sky (via Connecticut)
- Toronto Tempo/Portland Fire
- Toronto Tempo/Portland Fire
- Golden State Valkyries
- Washington Mystics (via Seattle)
- Indiana Fever
- Washington Mystics (via New York)
- Connecticut Sun (via Phoenix)
- Atlanta Dream
- Seattle Storm (via Las Vegas)
- Connecticut Sun (via Minnesota)
Unlike the past two years, when Cailtin Clark and Paige Bueckers were the clear top prospects, there is no consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s class — at least not right now. Spanish center Awa Fam has the most upside, but she is only 19 years old and no international player has gone No. 1 since Lauren Jackson in 2001. UCLA center Lauren Betts will also receive consideration for the top pick, and there are a number of talented guards, including TCU’s Olivia Miles, who could play their way into the mix.
Now that the lottery is in the books and the draft order is set, let’s take a look at some winners and losers from the night’s results.
Winner: Wings
This is an obvious one, but the Wings are the biggest winner of the night. This is the second year in a row that the franchise has had the top pick, and the third time since 2021. In the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Wings took former UConn star Paige Bueckers, who went on to have a historic rookie season and established herself as a franchise cornerstone.
There’s no clear choice this time around, but it’s always exciting to control the board and the Wings are still thrilled with their luck. On ESPN’s broadcast, analyst Chiney Ogwumike said she sent a text to Wings general manager Curt Miller, who responded with three letters: “LFG.”
Aside from the addition of Bueckers, nothing went to plan for the Wings in 2025. They were beset by injuries, ended up trading NaLyssa Smith and DiJonai Carrington and finished in last place at 10-34, which tied the league’s single-season losses record. First-year coach Chris Koclanes, who appeared out of his depth, was fired soon after their campaign came to an end.
As bad as 2025 was, there’s plenty of hope for the future in Dallas, especially after winning the lottery again. Bueckers is already an All-WNBA caliber player, fellow rookies Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly showed some flashes and former lottery picks Maddy Siegrist and Diamond Miller are signed for 2026. Bringing in a player like Fam, who makes a lot of sense for the Wings, would give them an exciting young core.
Off the court, Miller is one of the most well-respected executives in the league and new coach Jose Fernandez comes highly regarded for the work he did at the collegiate level with South Florida. Add in a new practice facility, which is expected to open before the 2026 season starts, and things are finally looking up in Dallas.
Loser: Sky
The Sky only had a 5.5% chance at winning the top pick, and the most likely outcome was always that they would wind up at No. 5. Still, Sunday’s result highlighted the mess that the franchise is in.
Ever since their 2022 playoff collapse, the Sky have made a series of short-sighted, win-now moves that have resulted in a combined 41-83 record over the last three seasons, one playoff appearance and zero playoff wins. Last season, they went 10-34 to tie the league’s single-season losses mark.
Despite such an abysmal record, the Sky were lucky to even be in the lottery. They owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Lynx, who wound up with the No. 2 selection thanks to the Sky’s odds. If not for a pair of separate deals with the Sun and Mercury, which allowed the Sky to swap first-round picks with the Sun, they wouldn’t have had a lottery pick.
The Sky can still add a good player. There is an abundance of backcourt talent in this class — Olivia Miles, Azzi Fudd, Flau’jae Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson — and Chicago still needs a guard for the future after trading the No. 3 pick in last year’s draft (Sonia Citron) for Ariel Atkins. But at No. 5, they won’t have their choice of the bunch.
Once again, the Sky’s future options have been limited by their past mistakes.
Winner: Lynx
The Lynx went 34-10 last season to tie the league’s single-season wins record, and were the clear favorites to win the title until they suffered a playoff collapse — partially due to key injuries to Napheesa Collier and DiJonai Carrington — in the second round against the Mercury.
It goes without saying that the Lynx are not a typical lottery team, but thanks to a series of trades with the Sky, they own Chicago’s 2026 first-round pick. As a result, the Lynx will select in the lottery for the first time since 2023, and will have a chance to add a top talent to one of the league’s top rosters (assuming they re-sign the majority of their core in free agency).
At No. 2, the Lynx will have plenty of choices. One of Fam or Betts is guaranteed to be available, and the Lynx could use additional frontcourt depth. And if they want to bolster their backcourt, the likes of Olivia Miles, Azzi Fudd and Flau’jae Johnson could all help their cause immediately. Furthermore, plenty of teams would be eager to trade up and take the Lynx’s spot, and Minnesota could look to orchestrate a trade for a more established player(s).
Whatever happens in April, the Lynx are going to be even better in 2026, and that’s bad news for the rest of the league.
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