Lynx will select No. 2 overall in 2026 WNBA draft

Coming off a franchise-record 34-victory season, the Lynx learned Sunday night they will have the No. 2 pick in next year’s WNBA draft.

The Dallas Wings won the WNBA draft lottery for the second year in a row. The Wings, who drafted Hopkins’ Paige Bueckers No. 1 last year, had a 42% chance to secure the top pick again.

The Lynx had the best record in the WNBA in 2025 at 34-10, but they also had Chicago’s first-round pick in the 2026 draft following the teams’ 2024 trade, when the Sky moved up one spot to No. 7 to land Angel Reese. Because Chicago went a combined 23-61 the past two seasons, the second-worst record in the league behind Dallas, the Lynx had a 26% chance at the No. 1 pick.

Seattle, Washington and Chicago rounded out the lottery. This marked the fifth time in the history of the lottery that the results matched the order of chances held by the teams — the last came in 2018.

While there’s no clear No. 1 pick in the draft like Bueckers — who was a near-unanimous choice for WNBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists for the Wings — there’s a host of draft-eligible players in college. That group includes UCLA’s Lauren Betts, Connecticut’s Azzi Fudd, Louisiana State’s Flau’jae Johnson and Texas Christian’s Olivia Miles. There’s also 19-year-old Awa Fam, a 6-foot-4 center from Spain whom ESPN projects to be drafted No. 1.

“The great things about this draft is there’s a lot of optionality coming out,” Dallas General Manager Curt Miller told the Associated Press.

It’s the third time in franchise history the Lynx have had the No. 2 pick. While their two No. 1 overall picks landed Hall of Famers in Seimone Augustus (2006) and Maya Moore (2011), their No. 2 picks have not had the same kind of impact.

In 2023, the Lynx had the No. 2 pick and drafted Maryland’s Diamond Miller. Though she was an all-rookie selection that year, she became a bench player in 2024 and ’25 before getting traded to Dallas this past August as part of the deal that brought DiJonai Carrington to the Lynx.

Now another No. 1 overall pick joins a Wings roster that includes Miller, Bueckers, All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and good-luck charm Maddy Siegrist. The No. 3 pick in 2023, Siegrist was the Wings’ lottery representative for the second year in a row, and both years they netted the top pick.

“This is an integral piece, a core piece,” Miller said. ”In recent draft classes, you see what consecutive No. 1s can do.”

The WNBA is currently negotiating with the players union for a new collective bargaining agreement. The two sides agreed to extend an Oct. 31 deadline to Nov. 30. Assuming a new CBA can be negotiated, the draft is normally held in April. Details of the expansion draft for Toronto and the Portland Fire also haven’t been announced yet.