The Dallas Wings win the WNBA draft lottery, earning the No. 1 pick next year

The future of the Dallas Wings got a lot brighter as the franchise won the WNBA draft lottery on Sunday and with it the chance to draft UConn star Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick.

“We know what No. 1 draft picks have done to franchises and in recent years how they’ve changed the trajectory of teams,” said Wings general manager Curt Miller, who got that job nine days ago. “So super excited to earn the No. 1 pick in 2025 draft.”

Miller said he answered one text message from Wings star Arike Ogunbowale in the few minutes he had between the lottery and a Zoom call with the media.

“Can’t be happier to see her excitement,” he said. “Really exciting times, can’t wait to get off Zoom and start to connect with the players.”

Before Miller can figure out who the team will draft first, he has to hire a new coach for the franchise. He just started that process.

“The coaching search has already generated tremendous amounts of interest,” he said. “Can’t begin to tell you the interest coming from not only the WNBA but also outside the WNBA. This is only going to increase it.”

The day didn't start out great for Miller as his flight from Los Angeles to Dallas was canceled this morning, so he had to watch the draft from a coaching friend's office in California.

Bueckers, who is the consensus No. 1 pick, has had her career at UConn derailed by injuries. She was the first freshman to win AP Player of the Year before getting injured her sophomore season. She is healthy now and has No. 2 UConn undefeated in the early part of the season.

Dallas last had the No. 1 pick in 2021 and chose Charli Collier, who is now out of the league. That season, the Wings had the second pick in the draft before acquiring the top choice via trade. The franchise had participated in the lottery 11 times before winning it this year. The Wings had a 22.7% chance to win the lottery.

The Los Angeles Sparks, who had the highest chance at 44% to get the top choice, will pick second. The Sparks chose second last year also as well as fourth in the draft.

“We’re happy to have the second pick in next year’s draft,” LA Sparks GM Raegan Pebley said. “Holding a lottery pick in 2025’s deep draft guarantees we’ll be able to add an impactful player to our roster at a pivotal time in our history. Our staff is already hard at work exploring all our options in the lottery and with our other three picks.”

The Chicago Sky will pick third. There was no way they could get the No. 1 pick because of a trade with Dallas in 2023 that allowed the Wings to swap picks with the Sky.

Washington, which last won the lottery in 1999, will pick fourth. The Mystics, who need to hire a coach and GM still, had just under an 11% chance of getting the No. 1 pick.

The Wings hire Miller as the team's new general manager earlier this month, but still need to hire a coach after letting Latricia Trammell go last month.

Los Angeles also is in need of a new head coach after the franchise let Miller go.

The expansion Golden State Valkyries will draft fifth. The league will hold an expansion draft on Dec. 6 for Golden State to choose players for its roster from the other WNBA teams.

The rest of the first round will be Washington picking sixth after acquiring the pick from Atlanta. Defending champion New York goes seventh after trading for the pick with Phoenix. Indiana and Seattle are the next two.

Chicago, after acquiring the pick from Connecticut, will also pick 10th. Minnesota and Phoenix close out the first round. The Las Vegas Aces ′ first-round pick was rescinded due to violations of league rules.

The Indiana Fever won the lottery the past two years and selected Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark — the last two Rookie of the Year winners.

Other top players who could be eligible to be drafted include Kiki Iriafen of USC, Olivia Miles of Notre Dame and Lauren Betts of UCLA.

The 2025 WNBA draft is scheduled for April 14.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press