Wings repeat: Dallas will have the pick #1 in the 2026 WNBA draft!

Dallas Wings Get First WNBA Draft Pick for Second Straight Year

For the second consecutive year, the Dallas Wings secure the coveted first pick in the WNBA draft. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the franchise, which will seek to build its future with young and promising talent. The Wings, who selected UConn’s Paige Bueckers in 2025, won the 2026 WNBA draft lottery on Sunday and will have the first pick on April 13. They are the fourth franchise to have the first overall pick in consecutive seasons, although others have won consecutive draft lotteries but have traded one of the picks. 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. Two trades led the Minnesota Lynx and the 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.

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 lottery representative

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 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 (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 entering 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 are very excited. I think being in the top three, especially in this draft, will give us a great player. So we are 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 is good depth and there is good top-level talent in this draft. At number 3, I really think we’ll get someone who will help us immediately.

Talisa Rhea, Storm General Manager

In the last 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 complete 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 enter the 2026 season with a new coach, Jose Fernandez, after firing Chris Koclanes after only one year.

There are so many exciting things in Dallas. We have a new coach… the practice facilities… a couple of high picks in recent years. We are very excited to bring in another major prospect.

Maddy Siegrist

The 2026 season will also feature two expansion franchises: Portland Fire and 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.