Dallas Wings Get the #1 Pick in the WNBA Draft for the Second Consecutive Year
For the second year in a row, the Dallas Wings will lead the WNBA draft, securing the first pick in the 2026 draft.After selecting Paige Bueckers from UConn in 2025, the Wings won the 2026 draft lottery on Sunday, April 13, which will allow them to pick first. They are the fourth franchise to achieve 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 records of the last two regular seasons of the WNBA for the five teams that didn’t make the playoffs in 2025. Trades brought the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm to 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 was named WNBA Rookie of the Year and was also included in the All-WNBA second team. However, the Wings failed to make the postseason again 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 at the lottery. “We have an exciting young group and we really bond. I’m excited to bring someone else in.”
Maddy Siegrist
In the latest mock draft, UConn’s Azzi Fudd is projected to be number 1, with Awa Fam from Spain at number 2. TCU’s Olivia Miles, UCLA’s Lauren Betts, and LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson round out the rest of the projected lottery picks. While most of the league’s rosters 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 begin the 2026 season with a new coach, Jose Fernandez, after firing Chris Koclanes after only one year.“We are very excited,” said Storm general manager Talisa Rhea. “I think being in the top three, especially in this draft, will give us a great player. So I’m definitely happy to have gotten there. I think there are definitely a handful of really great players who will be able to impact teams immediately, which isn’t always the case. I think there’s good depth and there’s good top-tier talent in this draft. At the 3rd spot, I really think we’ll get someone who will help us immediately.”
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 practice facilities… a couple of high picks in the last few years. We are very excited to bring in another top prospect.”
Maddy Siegrist
