The Lynx will have the No. 1 and 4 picks in the 2011 WNBA draft in early April. The order of the teams making the top four picks was determined Tuesday in a lottery held in New York City.
Minnesota had the second-best chance (38 percent) at obtaining the top pick in what could be called the Maya Moore lottery. Moore, a 6-foot senior guard for Connecticut, is widely regarded as the best player available.
"I let out a big yelp," said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve when asked her reaction to winning the ping-pong ball lottery. "Everybody knows who the best player in the country is. No matter who has the No. 1 pick, it is pretty easy."
Moore, a 6-foot guard for the University of Connecticut, is a two-time winner of the Wade Trophy, presented to the nation's best player, and a three-time all-america pick.
Last season, Moore averaged 18.9 points as UConn won its second consecutive NCAA title and extended its winning streak to 78 games. She was only college player on the U.S. team which won gold medal in FIBA World Championships this fall.
On Tuesday, Moore became only the second two-time unanimous pick to the Associated Press preseason All-America team. Former Duke guard Alana Beard, now with the Washington Mystics, was the first.
"Watching [Moore] practice the last three weeks, she's even better than she was the last three years." UConn coach Geno Auriemma was quoted as saying by theday.com of New London, Conn.
"I don't know if she dribbles better or passes better. … But with 8 seconds left on the shot clock and we need a bucket, she's getting one. It's just overwhelming."