Dallas Wings Get First WNBA Draft Pick for Second Straight Year
For the second year in a row, the Dallas Wings secure the coveted first pick in the WNBA draft. This achievement highlights a period of rebuilding and hope for the team. After selecting UConn’s Paige Bueckers in 2025, the Wings won the 2026 WNBA draft lottery on Sunday, guaranteeing their selection in the first position on April 13th. They are the fourth franchise to achieve the first pick in consecutive seasons, a milestone that underscores their development strategy. The lottery draw was based on the accumulated records of the last two regular seasons of the WNBA for the five teams that failed to qualify for 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 secured 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 this year was the first to feature five teams since 2010. The Lynx, with the second-best odds, will select second. The Storm will pick third, followed by the Washington Mystics in the number 4 spot and the Chicago Sky in the number 5 spot. “We are very excited,” said Talisa Rhea, general manager of the Storm. The latest draft simulation projects UConn’s Azzi Fudd as the first pick, followed by Spain’s Awa Fam at number 2. 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 teams 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 want someone who wants to win,” said Maddy Siegrist, Dallas forward and team representative at the lottery. “We have a young and exciting group, and we really bond. I’m excited to bring someone else in.”
Maddy Siegrist
The 2026 season will also see the addition of two expansion franchises: the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo. They will select in the sixth and seventh positions, although the order has not yet been determined. A date for the expansion draft has not yet been set, the rules of which must be collectively bargained. Collective bargaining negotiations are ongoing after the players’ union and the league agreed to a one-month extension. The current collective bargaining agreement 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,” Siegrist said. “We have a new coach … the training facilities … a couple of high picks in the last few years. We are very excited to bring in another major prospect.”
Maddy Siegrist
