Dallas Wings Get First WNBA Draft Pick for Second Straight Year
The Dallas Wings secure the top spot in the WNBA draft for the second consecutive year. After selecting Paige Bueckers in 2025, the team won the 2026 draft lottery on Sunday and will have the first pick on April 13. This is the fourth time a franchise has gotten the first pick in consecutive seasons, although others have won consecutive lotteries and then traded one of the picks. The lottery odds were based on the cumulative results of the last two WNBA regular seasons for the five teams that didn’t make the playoffs in 2025. The Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm also entered the lottery via two trades. 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 was named WNBA Rookie of the Year and was also selected for the All-WNBA second team. However, the Wings failed to make the postseason and 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 (number 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 before Sunday, 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,” said Maddy Siegrist, Dallas forward and team representative in the lottery. “We have a young and exciting group, and we really bond. I’m excited to bring someone else in.”
Maddy Siegrist
Azzi Fudd from UConn is expected to be number 1 in the latest mock draft, with Awa Fam from Spain at number 2. Olivia Miles from TCU, Lauren Betts from UCLA, and Flau’jae Johnson from LSU round out 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 enter the 2026 season with a new coach, Jose Fernandez, after firing Chris Koclanes after only one year.“We are very excited,” said Talisa Rhea, general manager of Storm.
Talisa Rhea
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 it is not yet known in what order. A date for the expansion draft has not yet been set, the rules of which 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: 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 so many exciting things in Dallas,” Siegrist said. “We have a new coach… the training facilities… a couple of important picks in the last few years. We are very excited to bring in another important prospect.”
Maddy Siegrist
