WNBA draft is wide open
The 2026 WNBA Draft is tonight and coverage notes there is no consensus No. 1 pick going into the event. (sports.yahoo.com) TCU guard Olivia Miles signed a multi‑year deal with the 3‑on‑3 league Unrivaled ahead of the draft, becoming the first 2026 prospect to do so, and mock drafts project names like Awa Fam and Azzi Fudd near the top of boards. (nytimes.com) (nbcsports.com)
The 2026 Women’s National Basketball Association draft starts Monday, April 13, without a clear favorite for the No. 1 pick. (wnba.com) The Dallas Wings hold the first pick after winning the draft lottery in November, followed by the Minnesota Lynx at No. 2, the Seattle Storm at No. 3 and the Washington Mystics at No. 4. The draft begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, with coverage starting at 6:30 p.m., and it is being held at The Shed in Manhattan. (wnba.com 1) (wnba.com 2) League coverage and mock drafts have pointed to several different candidates at the top, including Awa Fam, Azzi Fudd, Lauren Betts and Olivia Miles. Yahoo Sports said there is “no consensus” No. 1 pick entering Monday night, and NBC Sports projected Dallas to take Fam while sending Fudd to Seattle at No. 3. (sports.yahoo.com) (nbcsports.com) That uncertainty stands out because recent drafts were defined by obvious headliners. The official Women’s National Basketball Association draft history lists Paige Bueckers at No. 1 in 2025, Caitlin Clark in 2024 and Aliyah Boston in 2023. (wnba.com) This year’s class also arrives as teams weigh fit as much as star power. NBC DFW’s prospect rundown highlighted Fudd, Betts and Fam as top names, while different mock drafts have shuffled them across the top five rather than locking in one order. (nbcdfw.com) (nbcsports.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Miles added another wrinkle on Sunday when she signed a multiyear deal with Unrivaled, the three-on-three league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. Yahoo Sports reported she is set to play there in 2027 and became the first 2026 draft prospect to sign an Unrivaled contract before entering the league. (sports.yahoo.com) The first round will also feed expansion teams. The official draft board lists Toronto at No. 6, Portland at No. 7 and Golden State at No. 8, putting three newer franchises in the lottery portion of the night. (wnba.com) Fifteen players were invited to attend in person in New York, including Betts, Fudd and Miles, underscoring how many plausible top picks will be in the room when Dallas goes on the clock. By Monday night, a draft that opened with no clear answer will finally have one. (sports.yahoo.com)
