{"id":545082,"date":"2026-03-18T18:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/545082\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T18:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:52:15","slug":"when-is-wnba-draft-date-draft-order-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/545082\/","title":{"rendered":"When is WNBA draft? Date, draft order, what you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) have agreed in principle to a new collective bargaining agreement<\/a>, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n

As the agreement moves through channels to be finalized \u2013 a term sheet needs to be signed, voted on by players and ratified by a board of governors \u2013 we can finally look forward to the league’s 30th season.<\/p>\n

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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the season will start on time on May 8. Training camp begins on April 19. The WNBA also needs conduct free agency and expansion drafts for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. So, a lot to get through, including the 2026 WNBA Draft. Here’s what to know about the draft.<\/p>\n

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WNBA’s Most Valuable Player award winners over the years<\/p>\n

A’ja Wilson #22 of the Las Vegas Aces smiles after receiving the 2024 WNBA MVP award before Game One of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs first round between the Aces and the Seattle Storm at Michelob ULTRA Arena on September 22, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 3<\/p>\n

WNBA’s Most Valuable Player award winners over the years<\/p>\n

A’ja Wilson #22 of the Las Vegas Aces smiles after receiving the 2024 WNBA MVP award before Game One of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs first round between the Aces and the Seattle Storm at Michelob ULTRA Arena on September 22, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n

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2 \/ 3<\/p>\n

WNBA’s Most Valuable Player award winners over the years<\/p>\n

Breanna Stewart, a forward on the Seattle Storm, was named MVP in 2018, averaging 22 points and 8 rebounds per game during the regular season. She helped lead the Storm to a championship that season where she was also named Finals MVP.<\/p>\n

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3 \/ 3<\/p>\n

WNBA’s Most Valuable Player award winners over the years<\/p>\n

Sheryl Swoopes #22, a forward and guard for the Houston Comets, was named the MVP in 2000, averaging 21 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. The Comets won their fourth straight WNBA championship this year as well.<\/p>\n

When is the 2026 WNBA Draft?<\/p>\n

The\u00a02026 WNBA Draft<\/a>\u00a0is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 13, a little more than a week after a national champion will be crowned in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. ESPN is set to broadcast and live stream the draft.<\/p>\n

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What WNBA team has No. 1 draft pick?<\/p>\n

The Dallas Wings were awarded the No. 1 overall pick in the\u00a0draft lottery<\/a>\u00a0for the second consecutive year. The Wings will have first dibs on big names such as\u00a0UConn’s<\/a>\u00a0Azzi Fudd<\/a>, Spain’s Awa Fam,\u00a0UCLA<\/a>‘s\u00a0Lauren Betts<\/a>,\u00a0TCU<\/a>‘s\u00a0Olivia Miles<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0LSU’s\u00a0Flau’jae Johnson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We want someone who wants to win,” said Wings forward Maddy Siegrist, who represented the team at the lottery in November. The\u00a0Minnesota Lynx<\/a>\u00a0will pick second in the draft, followed by the\u00a0Seattle Storm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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WNBA mock draft<\/p>\n

From\u00a0UCLA’s Kiki Rice<\/a>, who is rising up the draft board, to South Carolina’s Raven Johnson, whose play has turned heads all season, USA TODAY’s Meghan L. Hall reviews where prospects could land in her latest WNBA mock draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WNBA draft order<\/p>\n

First round<\/p>\n

2. Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago)<\/p>\n

3. Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles)<\/p>\n

5. Chicago Sky (from Connecticut)<\/p>\n

9. Washington Mystics (from Seattle)<\/p>\n

11. Washington Mystics (from New York via Minnesota and Connecticut)<\/p>\n

12. Connecticut Sun (from Phoenix via Chicago)<\/p>\n

14. Seattle Storm (from Las Vegas)<\/p>\n

15. Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota via Washington)<\/p>\n

Second round<\/p>\n

16. Seattle Storm (from Dallas)<\/p>\n

23. Golden State Valkyries<\/p>\n

24. Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle)<\/p>\n

26. Chicago Sky (from New York)<\/p>\n

30. Washington Mystics (from Minnesota)<\/p>\n

Third round<\/p>\n

38. Golden State Valkyries<\/p>\n

When is the 2026 expansion draft?<\/p>\n

The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire join the league in 2026 as the 14th and 15th WNBA franchises, but the teams will have to wait a little longer to begin assembling their rosters. That’s because the rules and format of the upcoming expansion draft have been negotiated in the new CBA, meaning the draft cannot be held until a deal is in place.<\/p>\n

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“We have given our general managers some guidance on how we\u2019re thinking, but until we get the collective bargaining agreement done, it won\u2019t be finalized as to the format or process,”\u00a0Englebert<\/a>\u00a0said in October. “But you can expect, because you saw what we did last year, something similar.”<\/p>\n

When the Golden State Valkyries joined the league as the 13th franchise in 2025, the\u00a0team’s expansion draft<\/a>\u00a0was held on Dec. 6, 2024.\u00a0The draft rules were released on Sept. 30, 2024 and WNBA teams were required to provide the league with a roster list of all their players by Nov 25, 2024, including six protected players that wouldn’t be available for selection. Golden State then got to pick one player from each team, nearly two months before team-building continued through free agency in late January.<\/p>\n

The timeline will be much tighter for the Tempo and Fire with the WNBA’s May 8 start. The league has to squeeze in an expansion draft for two teams, free agency featuring more than 100 players, and the 2026 WNBA draft before opening night.<\/p>\n

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When does WNBA free agency start?<\/p>\n

It is not yet known when exactly free agency will begin, but it will likely be a wild ride with about 80% of players being free agents.<\/p>\n

2026 WNBA season schedule<\/p>\n

The WNBA’s landmark 30th season is scheduled to tip off on Friday, May 8.<\/p>\n

June 1-17: Commissioner’s Cup<\/p>\n

July 24-27: All-Star Weekend (Chicago)<\/p>\n

Sept. 24: Last day of regular season<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is 2026 WNBA draft? Date, draft order, what you need to know<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) have agreed in principle to a new collective bargaining…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[76200,732,49,48,6681,726,4785,3458,3459,1612,2803,1483,3460,1522,632,42097,736,3457,3461,104252,1611,82,61187,737,630,38381,87112],"class_list":["post-545082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-2026-wnba-draft","tag-atlanta-dream","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-sky","tag-connecticut","tag-connecticut-sun","tag-dallas-wings","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-indiana-fever","tag-las-vegas","tag-las-vegas-aces","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-sparks","tag-maddy-siegrist","tag-minnesota-lynx","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-phoenix-mercury","tag-portland-fire","tag-seattle-storm","tag-sports","tag-the-wings","tag-washington-mystics","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-draft","tag-wnba-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}