The Dallas Wings had a disappointing season in 2025, going 10-34 under first-year head coach Chris Koclanes, including a 1-11 stretch to start the year, and another 1-15 stretch from July 30th to September 7th. That’s despite having last year’s first overall pick, Paige Bueckers, having a historic first season.
Because of that, the Wings are under major changes. Kolcanes was fired in favor of Jose Fernandez, who spent the last 25 years at the University of South Florida. Any roster personnel changes start with the 2026 WNBA Draft, though.
The WNBA is holding its annual Draft Lottery on Sunday evening, and the Dallas Wings hold the best odds to land the first overall pick at 42%. The odds are based on the combined records of the last two seasons for the teams that missed the playoffs this year, and even though the Wings won the lottery last year, jumping the LA Sparks to do so, WNBA fans would much rather see the Wings win it again than see the team with the second-best odds win the lottery this year.
Aug 8, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist (20) in action during the game between the Dallas Wings and the New York Liberty at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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The Minnesota Lynx, who finished with the best record in the WNBA last year, received a first-round pick from the Chicago Sky in a trade for a 2025 first-round pick, which became Hailey Van Lith, and Van Lith couldn’t really crack the rotation on a bad team last year. But adding a top pick to an already stacked team in Minnesota is not what people want to see. They have a 26.1% chance of winning the first pick.
The other three teams that have a chance at the first overall pick are the Seattle Storm (16.7%), the Washington Mystics (9.7%), and the Chicago Sky (5.5%). Seattle has this pick thanks to the LA Sparks, while the Sky received this pick in a trade in 2024 that sent Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun.
In hopes of winning the first pick again, the Wings are sending Maddy Siegrist back to be the team’s representative. It was clearly good luck last year, so hopefully she can land the top pick again. There isn’t a Paige Bueckers-level talent as of yet, but people are high on UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Spain’s Awa Fam, both centers.
The WNBA Draft Lottery will be at 5:30 p.m. CST on ESPN, which should be about a 30-minute airing. The draft itself won’t be until April 13th, assuming things like the new CBA don’t push it back further.
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