2012 WNBA Draft Lottery. Courtesy ESPN.
Some called it the WNBA 2025 Draft Lottery, others called it the Paige Bueckers Sweepstakes, but regardless of title, the top pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft belongs to the Dallas Wings.
A trade deal with Chicago gave Dallas the most chances of any of the four teams participating, despite having only the second worst record.
When the Wings sent Marina Mabrey to Chicago at the beginning of the 2023 season, part of that deal was that if Chicago got a higher pick than Dallas, the Wings would automatically receive that pick. Despite that deal being in place, the Wings actually won the first pick outright.
Even with WNBA All-Star Game MVP Arike Ogunbowale, former fifth overall pick Natasha Howard, and talented rookie Maddy Siegrest, the Wings struggled during the 2024 season. The team ended the year with a record of 9-31 and was the second team eliminated from playoff contention, marking the first time Dallas had missed the postseason since 2020.
Adding Bueckers to the team could help inject energy into the roster and provide a suitable reinforcement for Ogunbowale, the team’s top scoring guard. The team already has three other guards besides Ogunbowale, but none averaged more than five points per game in the 2024 season. Bueckers is currently averaging about 21 points per game at UConn, and could contribute much needed point totals to the team.
By far the biggest challenge for the Wings right now is the fact that they do not have a coach. In October, the team fired Head Coach Latricia Trammell, who went 31-49 in two seasons with the team. The Wings also hired a new General Manager after Trammell’s firing, Curt Miller, who was just fired as the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks after they ended the year with the worst record in the league.
The Los Angeles Sparks, who had the highest chance of gaining the first pick outright, were awarded the second overall pick in the draft. The Sparks had the worst record in the WNBA last season at 8-32. Despite acquiring former Sixth Woman of the Year Dearica Hamby in a trade with the Aces, and prime rookies in Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink, the team struggled to come together. This was especially true after Brink tore her ACL in June, leaving her out for the rest of the 2024 season.
Another challenge the Sparks will have to overcome even with a second pick is the fact that, like the Wings, they have no head coach. It’s hard to say what a second overall pick could do for the team without a coach, especially considering they also had the number one pick in last year's draft, which they used to select Brink.
The third pick was awarded to the Chicago Sky and the fourth pick was awarded to the Washington Mystics.
Now, the league looks forward to the Expansion Draft for the Golden State Valkyries on December 6th. The league previously decided that the Valkyries would get the fifth pick in both rounds of the draft, but in the Expansion Draft they will have the chance to choose players from current WNBA teams.
Edited by Emily Tsipis
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