BZ: Welcome back to EE-SPN. I’m Ben

VZ: I’m Vaishnavi

BZ: This is episode 12, and we are going over our projected top five picks of the 2026 WNBA Draft, and what this means for these teams going forward.

VK: For some context, the WNBA’s regular season is four months long, from May to September, with the playoffs going into mid-October. The league currently has 13 teams, with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries in the 2025 season. However, two new expansion teams, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, will have their first seasons in 2026, bringing the total up to 15 teams.

BZ: The draft lottery odds were based on the two-year (2024 and 2025) cumulative records of the five teams that did not make the playoffs in the most recent season. The Dallas Wings received the number one pick, followed by the Minnesota Lynx, Seattle Storm, Washington Mystics and lastly, the Chicago Sky. 

VK: The Dallas Wings received the first pick for the second year in a row after drafting Paige Bueckers from University of Connecticut in the 2025 draft. Bueckers received nearly as much hype as Caitlin Clark did when she first entered the league, and she had an incredible rookie season, being awarded Rookie of the Year, All-WNBA Second Team and an All-Star starter. However, she was the only bright spot in an otherwise abysmal Wings season, finishing in last place with a record of 10-34. Dallas struggled both offensively (10th in the league) and defensively (11th in the league) throughout the season, dealing with significant injuries and the adjustment to a new head coach, Chris Koclanes. 

BZ: We project 5-11 UConn shooting guard and Buecker’s former teammate, Azzi Fudd, to be the number one overall pick. In the first nine games of the college basketball season, Fudd shot nearly 50% from the field and 53% from three. Offensively, Fudd’s abilities will be incredibly impactful in Dallas. What makes this perhaps the most interesting draft pick of all time is that Bueckers and Fudd are publicly in a romantic relationship. It has been unheard of for two back-to-back number one overall picks to be dating, much less for them to be drafted to the same team. 

VK: These two players have amazing on-court chemistry, winning a national championship together in 2025, where Fudd was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Final Four. As we see later, there are many talented prospects that Dallas can pursue to fix their flaws across the board, but the backcourt pairing of Fudd and Bueckers will certainly turn heads and be an incredible offensive watch. 

BZ: The Minnesota Lynx has the second overall pick after receiving the second pick from Chicago in a trade. Usually, teams in this high of a position to draft are struggling, but the Lynx were the front-runners for a championship for most of the regular season last year, starting 8-0 and ending as the number one overall seed with a record of 34-10. Their star player, Napheesa Collier, was in contention for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award as well. 

VK: We project that Awa Fam from Spain will be drafted second overall to Minnesota. She is a 19-year-old 6-foot-5 forward and one of the best prospects to come from Europe to the WNBA in recent years. She has incredible size that helps her lock down the paint areas, and her raw athleticism allows her to be an incredibly versatile player on both ends of the floor. Her immediate impact will be crucial to the Lynx, who are eyeing another run at the championship before their window closes. 

BZ: The third overall pick is the Seattle Storm, who have had a rocky, up-and-down season with a record of 23-21, and they received their pick from the Los Angeles Sparks. Seattle, who had the second overall pick of the 2025 draft, selected center Dominique Malonga from France. Though Malonga had a relatively successful season, making the all-rookie team, she will have to step it up even more to propel Storm to its previous glory. We project that 5-foot-10 point guard Olivia Miles from Texas Christian University will be drafted third. After transferring to TCU, Miles is averaging 17 points and seven assists, shooting 50% from the field. 

VK: Even though the Storm already has plenty of talent in its guard rotation with Skylar Diggins, Erica Wheeler and Brittney Sykes, drafting Miles will allow her to learn from veteran WNBA players. The important thing for Storm is to evaluate the long-term fit between the tall guard and center duo of Miles and Malonga, and trade away one of their older, smaller guards to be able to better contend for a championship.

BZ: The Washington Mystics are building a team full of young talent, with three first-round picks in the 2025 WNBA draft in addition to their 4th overall pick in 2026. Rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen played significant roles on the team and were recognized as all-stars. We project that the dominant 6-foot-7 giant Lauren Betts from UCLA will fall to the Mystics at the fourth slot. She led UCLA to the number one seed in the NCAA tournament and the Final Four last season. Due to her being a more traditional back-to-the-basket type of player, she may not suit every team perfectly, especially in a league that is dominated with more versatile centers like A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier, but her ability to protect the paint and finish in the interior will make any team consider adjusting their system to include her. 

VK: Lastly, the Chicago Sky has the fifth pick that they received from the Connecticut Sun. The team ended the season last in their conference with a terrible record of 10-34. Similar to Dallas, Chicago has been a mess of an organization, with poor coaching, injuries and an overall lack of coordination. The team needs a clearer vision and must build around its strong players. They originally had Minnesota’s pick for 2026, which they traded for the 11th overall pick in the 2025 draft, Hailey Van Lith. Averaging 12 minutes and 3.5 points, she has not yet lived up to expectations. 

BZ: We project that Flau’jae Johnson from Louisiana State University will be drafted fifth. The 5’10” guard is one of the most recognizable players in college basketball, shooting 52.2% from the field so far this season. She has won a national championship in 2023 with the current Chicago Sky star, Angel Reese. The two have recently experienced off-court drama, resulting in a cooled friendship, and it will be interesting to see how the once dynamic duo can reconnect in the future of the WNBA. Regardless, Chicago needs energetic young players like Johnson as they work to rebuild their team. 

VK: It’s still early into the college season, with many teams playing fewer than 10 games. As the season progresses, and we enter into March Madness, these athletes will be showcasing more of their strengths and these projections are sure to change. 

BZ: That’s all for this episode. Thanks for tuning in!

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