The 2026 WNBA Draft will start with the Dallas Wings once again.
The Wings won the top pick in the draft lottery held Sunday, and with it the chance to select another potential franchise cornerstone ahead of next season. Dallas also won the lottery last year and drafted 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers with the top selection.
“Huge momentum moment for our franchise — exciting times with our young core and new facilities coming on board and a new coach,” Wings executive vice president and general manager Curt Miller said.
Full 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery results
1. Dallas Wings
2. Minnesota Lynx
3. Seattle Storm
4. Washington Mystics
5. Chicago Sky
The Wings had the most assigned combinations on Sunday after having the worst two-year cumulative record of the five teams that did not make the playoffs last season. Not only will a new top selection be joining the franchise, but a new coach, too, as the Wings hired longtime University of South Florida coach Jose Fernandez in late October. Fernandez replaced Chris Koclanes, who coached the Wings to a 10-34 season last summer and was dismissed after one year.
Unlike in past years, in which Bueckers, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston were thought to be consensus top picks in their respective drafts, this year’s top selection is less clear. LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, TCU’s Olivia Miles, UConn’s Azzi Fudd and UCLA’s Lauren Betts are among the possible current collegiate options thought of as potential top picks. Awa Fam, a 19-year-old Spanish forward, could also be the No. 1 pick come April as she is brimming with potential.
Is a Paige-Azzi reunion on the way? https://t.co/SO97AUOENs pic.twitter.com/V6bMO7AVAm
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 23, 2025
“I think the great thing about this draft is a lot of optionality coming out of some other big, big roster momentum times,” Miller said.
The expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo and a historic free-agency period in which nearly every veteran player is unsigned will play a role in the decision regarding who Dallas selects, Miller said.
Dallas sent forward Maddy Siegrist, the No. 3 pick in the 2023 draft, to the lottery drawing in Los Angeles for the second consecutive year, hoping she would again bring the franchise good luck. Miller, too, had some similarities in how his draft lottery weekend progressed.
A year ago, flight issues prevented Miller from being in Dallas as the results were revealed. This year, Miller was looking to fly to Connecticut for Friday night’s top-10 matchup between UConn and Michigan before weather issues in Dallas caused his flight to get canceled — but not before he lost his checked luggage for 48 hours. And as he watched the unveiling, Miller said he was more nervous this year than last year.
“Certainly view this as an integral piece moving forward, a core piece to continue to build,” he said.
The 2026 WNBA Draft is scheduled for April 13, but the date could be moved depending on how the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement talks progress.
The Wings are now the third franchise since 2015 to win consecutive lotteries.
The Storm won the 2015 and 2016 draft lotteries, selecting Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart. The Las Vegas Aces won the draft lottery in 2017, 2018 and 2019, taking Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young. More recently, the Indiana Fever won the WNBA Draft Lottery in 2023 and 2024, taking Boston and Clark.
“You see in recent draft classes what consecutive No. 1s can do,” Miller said. “Teams in recent years in the WNBA have really been built through the draft.”
How were the odds and picks determined?
Odds are determined by the two-year cumulative records of the four teams that did not make the playoffs in 2025. With a cumulative record of 19-65, the Wings had the most assigned combinations (420 out of 1,000) and were guaranteed at least a top-three pick. The Lynx held the second-most combinations (261 out of 1,000) after acquiring their top pick in deals with the Chicago Sky, who were 23-61 over the last two seasons. The Lynx acquired swap rights for Chicago’s 2026 pick ahead of the 2024 draft, in a move that allowed the Sky to move up to No. 7 to select Angel Reese.
Maddy Siegrist does it again 🤗
The @dallaswings will get the No.1 Pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft! pic.twitter.com/ooWCH7eTa2
— WNBA (@WNBA) November 24, 2025
The Storm had the third-most combinations (167 out of 1,000) after acquiring the Los Angeles Sparks’ 2026 first-round pick in a 2024 trade that sent Kia Nurse to L.A. The Sparks had a 29-55 record since 2024. The Mystics had the fourth-most combinations (97 out of 1,000) while the Sky had the fifth-most (55 out of 1,000) after re-acquiring a first-round pick from the Connecticut Sun.
Full 2026 WNBA Draft Order
1. Wings
2. Lynx
3. Storm
4. Mystics
5. Sky
6. Either Portland Fire or Toronto Tempo
7. Either Portland Fire or Toronto Tempo
8. Golden State Valkyries
9. Mystics
10. Indiana Fever
11. Mystics
12. Sun
13. Atlanta Dream
14. Storm
15. Sun
