For the second consecutive year, the Dallas Wings hold the top pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. A year ago, the choice was obvious. Paige Bueckers was the consensus No. 1 prospect in a generation, and the Wings took her without hesitation. This cycle offers no such clarity, and the franchise faces a more nuanced decision with significant long-term implications.
According to CBS Sports’ latest mock draft, the Wings are projected to select Awa Fam, a 19-year-old center from Spain, with the No. 1 pick.
Awa Fam Projects as the Dallas Wings’ Top Pick in 2026 WNBA Draft
Fam stands 6-foot-4 and has spent this season competing in the EuroLeague, where she has held her own against professional competition while still a teenager. In 12 games, she is averaging 7.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.7 blocks in just 20.5 minutes per game, shooting 52.9 percent from the field.
CBS Sports analyst Jack Maloney projects Fam as the first international player selected No. 1 overall since Lauren Jackson in 2001, and frames her value in terms of her fit with Bueckers. As a pick-and-roll center with the athleticism to run the floor and the skill to finish around the basket, Fam would complement Bueckers’ playmaking in a way few prospects in this class can.
The pick is not without debate. TCU guard Olivia Miles, whom CBS Sports projects to Minnesota at No. 2, has drawn considerable attention as one of the most gifted playmaking prospects in recent draft history. The Wings will have to weigh positional need against best player available at the top of a class that thins quickly after the first few names.
A Deep 2026 WNBA Draft Takes Shape
Beyond the Wings, the first round features a collection of accomplished prospects from both college and overseas.
UConn guard Azzi Fudd goes to Seattle at No. 3. Maloney describes her as one of the best three-point shooting prospects the draft has seen in years, making 45.1 percent of nearly seven attempts per game for the Huskies this season, with a release quick enough to create off movement rather than operating strictly as a spot-up threat.
At 6-foot-7 with rim protection ability and a strong finishing touch in the paint, UCLA center Lauren Betts is a traditional center whose defensive instincts make her a legitimate top-five pick despite questions about how the position fits in the modern WNBA. Washington takes her fourth.
Kiki Rice rounds out the top five, heading to Chicago at No. 5 and giving the Bruins two players in the lottery. The UCLA guard has developed into a reliable outside shooter to go along with her established skills as a defender and playmaker, making her a strong fit alongside the Sky’s frontcourt.
LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson and French wing Nell Angloma round out the lottery portion of the board for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, the two expansion franchises entering their first drafts.
WNBA CBA Uncertainty Clouds the Process
Looming over everything is a labor stalemate with real consequences. The league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association remain without a collective bargaining agreement, and a league-reported deadline of next Tuesday puts the start of the 2026 season in question if no deal is reached.
With free agency on hold, more than 100 players remain unsigned, and teams are drafting without a clear picture of their rosters. Depending on how CBA talks unfold, the draft could take place before free agency opens.
Dallas enters that uncertainty with at least one constant. Bueckers is the cornerstone, a top pick is in hand, and the question now is which player best accelerates what the Wings are trying to build around her.