{"id":579691,"date":"2026-04-12T12:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T12:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/579691\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T12:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T12:01:10","slug":"with-no-2-pick-monday-lynx-guaranteed-a-potential-all-star-twin-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/579691\/","title":{"rendered":"With No. 2 pick Monday, Lynx guaranteed a potential all-star \u2013 Twin Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Historically speaking, the top of the WNBA draft has been easy to project.<\/p>\n

There are usually one or two prospects who tower over the rest of the draft and the whole basketball universe knows the top picks well before draft night. Last year, for example, Minnesota native Paige Beuckers was the predicted No. 1 overall selection from the first day of the college season, then the Dallas Wings picked her first on draft night.<\/p>\n

This year is the exception and so a good year for the Lynx to have the No. 2 pick.<\/p>\n

There are four players who have a reasonable case for being the first player taken in Monday night\u2019s WNBA Draft: UCLA center Lauren Betts, UConn guard Azzi Fudd, TCU guard Olivia Miles and Spanish professional forward Awa Fam.<\/p>\n

The Lynx have the second choice as part of a trade they made with the Chicago Sky last year, meaning they will land one of these elite prospects.<\/p>\n

Who will it be? How could each player impact their short and long-term outlook?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a closer look \u2026<\/p>\n

\"UCLAUCLA center Lauren Betts blocks out South Carolina’s Maryam Dauda on a potential rebound during the Bruins’ 79-51 victory in the NCAA championship game at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 05, 2026 in Phoenix. (Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)
\nLauren Betts<\/p>\n

The top player on UCLA\u2019s national championship team, Betts has a track record of consistent dominance in the paint. The 6-foot-7 senior has three straight seasons averaging at least 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks while shooting better than 58% from the field.<\/p>\n

Betts particularly shined in the NCAA Tournament this spring. She was UCLA\u2019s best player, playing nearly 32 minutes a game, averaging 21.0 points and shooting an incredible 68.8% on two-point shots as the Bruins finished with a 37-1 record and their first national title. She also made 80.0% of her free-throws and averaged 9.3 rebounds in the tourney.<\/p>\n

Betts falls under the category of a traditional center. She took only two 3-point shots over her four-year college career but controlled the blocks using her height, strength, footwork and wingspan. No matter how many double teams Betts faced, or how physical opponents played her, she found ways to score.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t her only asset, either. She also is a terrific passer, delivering assists on 21.7% of UCLA\u2019s possessions.<\/p>\n

Defensively, Betts has shades of Sylvia Fowles. She takes over games by shutting down the paint. Her wingspan is a nightmare for opponents trying to score at the rim, and she has enough quickness and tenacity to do the same at the WNBA level.<\/p>\n

If the Wings do not select Betts with the No. 1 selection, the Lynx could add an offensively efficient player who will immediately improve their ability to defend the rim versus bigger opponents.<\/p>\n

However, the Lynx might not see Betts as a fit for the way they have played in recent years. Coach Cheryl Reeve\u2019s team has been one of the best three-point shooting units by spreading the floor with five shooters. The offense also has been designed to get Napheesa Collier shots in the paint, which might be clogged by having a 6-7 big down low.<\/p>\n

\"UConnUConn forward Azzi Fudd shoots between South Carolina defenders Maddy McDaniel, left, and Raven Johnson in the Gamecocks’ Final Four victory at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 03, 2026 in Phoenix. (Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images)
\nAzzi Fudd<\/p>\n

There are few shooters comparable to Fudd in women\u2019s college basketball history. Her 117 3-point makes were the most in NCAA in 2025-26, and she made 44.7% of her attempts, fifth best in the nation.<\/p>\n

The 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year in high school wasn\u2019t just a 3-point specialist, though. She made 51.5% of her two-point shots, added 3.1 assists a game to UConn\u2019s terrific offense and ranked in the 98th percentile in steals per game with 2.5.<\/p>\n

Fudd also made an incredible 123 out of 133 free throws in her college career.<\/p>\n

At 5-11, she projects as a shooting guard who can run off screens to create open 3-pointers or use her vision and basketball IQ to find open shots for her teammates. Fudd showed in college that she\u2019s a capable shooting off the dribble, and any time she\u2019s open it\u2019s basically automatic. She also is a hard-working defender quick enough to guard good athletes and handle more complex WNBA defenses.<\/p>\n

Adding a deadly shooter to spread the floor around Collier could make a dangerous 3-point shooting scheme even more frightening for Lynx opponents. With Kayla McBride turning 34 in June, Fudd would act as her future replacement long term and an instant deep-threat contributor right away.<\/p>\n

The only downside to Fudd\u2019s game is that she isn\u2019t considered a top scorer while driving to the hoop, and she might not have enough explosiveness to become an elite WNBA on-ball defender.<\/p>\n

\"TCUTCU point guard Olivia Miles drives to the basket against Agot Makeer of South Carolina in the Gamecocks’s Elite Eight victory at Golden 1 Center on March 30, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thien-An Truong\/Getty Images)
\nOlivia Miles<\/p>\n

The former Notre Dame and TCU guard has a gift for passing that draws comparisons to Lindsay Whalen. She finished second in NCAA in assists in 2025-26 and has been among the leaders in college basketball for four years running. This year, Miles cracked the top 20 all time in total assists.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s hardly a one-trick pony. The experienced point guard has gotten better and better as a scorer, setting a career high this season with 19.6 points a game while shooting 48.1% from the field and 35.1% from beyond the arc. Her 3-point shooting has jumped leaps and bounds from the early part of her college career.<\/p>\n

Miles projects as a commanding dynamo who will cause havoc with her ability to play at a high tempo in transition, move the ball quickly in the half-court offense and deliver no-look passes from any angle. She can add scoring off the dribble with creative finishes and hit shots from outside.<\/p>\n

At 5-10, she isn\u2019t the biggest player and might not be an ideal matchup versus larger guards on the defensive end. Whether she can produce as much scoring in the pros as she did college is also a question.<\/p>\n

The Lynx haven\u2019t had a true floor general point guard since Whalen retired with three WNBA titles under her belt, so it would bode well for Reeve\u2019s offense to have her delivering dimes to the team\u2019s scorers.<\/p>\n

Awa Fam<\/p>\n

There is a strong case for the Wings to select Fam with the first pick because she might have the highest upside of any player in the draft. She\u2019s a 6-4 center with the size and athletic gifts to develop into a great WNBA player.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old power has been playing against pro competition, most recently in EuroLeague, where she averaged 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds while playing about 20 minutes a game. She made an impressive 52.9% of her shots.<\/p>\n

She shined as a member of the Spanish national team at 2024 and 2025 U20 EuroBasket. She won the MVP in \u201924 and helped her team win silver in 2025.<\/p>\n

Because Fam does not have the same amount of experience as the college players, and doesn\u2019t have the same type of sample size, drafting her would be a projection based on tools more than numbers. But she has a lot of tools.<\/p>\n

Fam is remarkably fast for a player her size. She looks like a track runner outracing guards in transition. She also has exceptional hands and finishing ability near the basket and can shoot from anywhere on the floor, including 3-point land.<\/p>\n

In the best-case scenario, Fam could become a Nneka Ogwumike type all-around star. It\u2019s going to take time, though, as she would need years to fully adapt to the WNBA game.<\/p>\n

If the Lynx have the chance to pick her, would they be willing to slowly work her into the lineup with a development plan? Or will they opt to take a safer player with much more playing time under their belt? If they want a super-gifted unicorn type, Fam will be the pick.<\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/p>\n

This is a very good draft to be picking No. 2 overall. Wherever the Wings decide to go with the first pick will leave Minnesota with three prospects that could become All-Star players.
The direction they take may depend on how Reeve views her team\u2019s makeup right now. Who does she think fits best schematically? Who fits the best around Napheesa Collier? Who works with the team\u2019s timeline?<\/p>\n

We will find out on Monday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Historically speaking, the top of the WNBA draft has been easy to project. There are usually one or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[5949,1077,3250,99,18068,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-579691","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-cheryl-reeve","9":"tag-minnesota-lynx","10":"tag-napheesa-collier","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uncategorized","13":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}