Dallas Wings Get First WNBA Draft Pick for Second Straight Year
The Dallas Wings have secured the first pick in the WNBA draft for the second consecutive year. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the franchise, which will seek to strengthen its roster with young and promising talent. The team, which selected UConn’s Paige Bueckers in the 2025 draft, won the 2026 WNBA draft lottery on Sunday and will have the first pick on April 13. The Wings are the fourth franchise to obtain the first overall pick in consecutive seasons. The lottery odds were based on the accumulated records of the last two regular seasons of the WNBA for the five teams that did not make the playoffs in 2025. Strategic moves led the Minnesota Lynx and the Seattle Storm to participate in the lottery. With a cumulative record of 19-65, the Wings had the best odds of obtaining the first pick (42%) and were guaranteed at least a top-three pick.Bueckers, who won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award and was named to the All-WNBA second team, couldn’t lead the Wings to the postseason, and the team finished the 2025 season with the worst record in the league (10-34). In the last five years, only the Indiana Fever have had more lottery picks than the Wings. Bueckers and Siegrist (No. 3 in 2023) were the only lottery picks who played for Dallas last season. The draft lottery this year was the first to feature five teams since 2010. The Lynx, who had the second-best odds, will select second. The Storm will pick third, followed by the Washington Mystics at number 4 and the Chicago Sky at number 5.We want someone who wants to win. We have a young and exciting group, and we really bond. I’m excited to bring in someone else.
Maddy Siegrist, Wings player.
In the last mock draft, UConn’s Azzi Fudd is projected as the first pick, followed by Awa Fam from Spain. TCU’s Olivia Miles, UCLA’s Lauren Betts, and LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson complete the rest of the projected lottery picks. While most of the league’s templates are currently made up of free agents, the Wings have five players under contract, including Bueckers, Siegrist, Diamond Miller, Aziaha James, and JJ Quinerly. Arike Ogunbowale, Li Yueru, Myisha Hines-Allen, and Tyasha Harris are free agents. The Wings will start the 2026 season with a new coach, Jose Fernandez, after the dismissal of Chris Koclanes after only one year.We are very excited. I think being in the top three, especially in this draft, will give us a great player. I’m happy to have gotten there. I think there are a handful of really great players who will be able to make an impact on teams right away, which isn’t always the case. I think there’s good depth and good top-end talent in this draft. At the 3rd spot, I really believe we’ll get someone who will help us immediately.
Talisa Rhea, Storm general manager.
The 2026 season will also feature two expansion franchises: the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo. They will select in sixth and seventh place, although the order has not yet been determined. A date for the expansion draft has not yet been set, and its rules must be collectively bargained. CBA negotiations are ongoing after the players’ union and the league agreed to a one-month extension. The current CBA will expire on November 30. The rest of the first round order is as follows: No. 8 Golden State, No. 9 Washington, No. 10 Indiana, No. 11 Washington, No. 12 Connecticut, No. 13 Atlanta, No. 14 Seattle, No. 15 Connecticut.There are a lot of exciting things happening in Dallas. We have a new coach… the training facilities… a couple of high picks in recent years. We are very excited to bring in another top prospect.
Maddy Siegrist
