2026 WNBA Draft Lottery: Favorite Wings, Date, and Key Teams

2026 WNBA Draft Lottery: Date and Key Teams

The lottery for the 2026 WNBA draft will be held on November 23. The league announced that the broadcast will take place at 6:30 p.m. ET. Several teams have qualified for the lottery, promising an exciting event for the fans.

Dallas Wings
Minnesota Lynx
Seattle Storm
Washington Mystics
Chicago Sky

The lottery odds are based on the cumulative records of the last two regular seasons of the WNBA for the five teams that did not make the playoffs in the most recent season. This year, two trades led Minnesota and Seattle to the lottery, adding an element of intrigue to the selections. With a cumulative record of 19-15, the Wings have the most opportunities to obtain the first pick (420 out of 1,000) and are guaranteed at least a top-three pick. Dallas had the number 1 pick in the 2025 draft and selected Paige Bueckers from UConn, who was named Rookie of the Year. As a result of a trade between the Lynx and the Sky, Minnesota owns Chicago’s first-round pick and has 261 chances to win the first pick. Seattle, which owns the Los Angeles Sparks’ first-round pick, has the third-most opportunities (167).

Of the three teams not selected in the lottery, the team with the worst cumulative two-year record will receive the third selection, the team with the next worst record will select fourth, and the last team will pick fifth.

Lauren Betts from UCLA is the projected player to be the first pick in the most recent draft. She was expected to be a top-five pick in this year’s draft, but decided to return to the Bruins for her senior season. Players who are eligible to return to school can wait to declare for the draft until after they have completed this college season. The WNBA did not specify where the two new league teams, Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, would fall in the draft order. For the 2025 draft, the Golden State Valkyries had the number 5 pick after the four lottery teams of that season. The WNBA draft is scheduled for April 13. An expansion draft for the Fire and Tempo will not be scheduled until the league and players reach a new collective bargaining agreement.