The WNBA draft lottery can significantly impact the future of any team. For example, the Indiana Fever ended a seven-year playoff drought in 2024 by securing the No. 1 overall picks, Aliyah Boston in 2023 and Kaitlyn Clark in 2024. Similarly, Arike Ogunbowale showed immense emotion when the Dallas Wings won the No. 1 pick in the Paige Bueckers sweepstakes last year.
The 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery is set for Sunday, November 23, with five teams competing for the top pick: Dallas Wings, Minnesota Lynx, Seattle Storm, Washington Mystics, and Chicago Sky. The lottery will be held at ESPN’s Los Angeles studio and broadcast live at 6:30 pm ET on ESPN and the ESPN app, marking the 14th consecutive year the network has aired the event.
The teams in the lottery missed the 2025 playoffs, with draft odds based on their combined records over the last two seasons. Dallas leads with a 420 in 1,000 chance, followed by Minnesota with 261, Seattle with 167, Washington with 97, and Chicago with 55. However, Minnesota holds the Sky’s first-round pick, Seattle owns the Sparks’ pick, and Chicago has the Sun’s first-round pick, adding complexity to the draft order.
Representing the teams at the lottery are Dallas’s Maddie Siegrist, Minnesota’s guards Courtney Williams and Natisha Hedeman, Seattle’s Gabby Williams, Washington’s Kiki Iriafen, and Chicago’s co-owner Nadia Rawlinson. The 2026 WNBA Draft itself will take place on Monday, April 13, 2026.
Fan Take: This draft lottery is crucial because it shapes the league’s future by potentially ushering in new stars who can energize their franchises. For WNBA fans, it offers hope and excitement for the evolution of the game and the rise of the next generation of elite players.
