Dallas Wings win Paige Bueckers sweepstakes after landing No. 1 pick in WNBA Draft Lottery

Paige Bueckers tin commencement envisioning WNBA hoops successful Texas aft the decision of her four-year vocation successful UConn.

That aboriginal is astir a certainty aft the ping pong balls worked successful the Dallas Wings’ favour successful the 2024 WNBA Draft Lottery. With defender Maddy Siegrist, the 3rd wide prime successful the 2023 WNBA Draft, contiguous arsenic Sunday’s franchise representative, the Wings landed the No. 1 wide prime successful the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Luck was successful Dallas’ favor, with the franchise entering Sunday’s lottery with the second-best likelihood (22.7%) to onshore the apical pick. The Los Angeles Spark, whom had the champion likelihood (44.2%) to onshore the archetypal pick, settled for the 2nd wide pick.

The Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics volition prime 3rd and fourth, respectively, successful adjacent year’s draft.

The 4 teams that missed the WNBA postseason past play were entered into the draught lottery, and the likelihood for the No. 1 wide prime were determined by each team’s cumulative grounds successful the past 2 seasons. The Sparks owned the highest likelihood (44.2%) aft finishing 25-55 during the 2024-25 seasons. The Wings and Sky owned the second-highest likelihood (22.7%) aft some franchises went 31-49. Entering the lottery, the Wings owned the close to swap first-round picks with the Sky, which would’ve been exercised if Chicago ended up placing higher than Dallas successful the lottery.

The Mystics had the lowest likelihood (10.8%) for the apical prime aft finishing 33-47 successful the past 2 seasons.

Picks 5 done 12 were determined by the inverse bid of each team’s 2024 regular-season record. The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s newest franchise, volition person the 5th prime successful the draft. The Las Vegas Aces presently don’t person a first-round prime successful adjacent year’s draught aft the league rescinded it owed to the franchise violating league rules.

The WNBA DRAFT LOTTERY EXPLAINED ✅

See however the the draught lottery is determined, including details connected however the 4 teams suffice for the enactment process

Tune successful Sunday November 17th astatine 5pm/ET connected ESPN for the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery presented by @statefarm pic.twitter.com/6YPylQHtxN

— WNBA (@WNBA) November 11, 2024

The defending champion Liberty are slated to prime 12th, but person the close to swap with the Phoenix Mercury’s seventh wide selection. The prime swap was acquired successful a 2023 four-team woody that brought Leonie Fiebich to New York and sent 2021 Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere to Phoenix.

The 2024 draught saw the Indiana Fever prime Caitlin Clark arsenic the No. 1 wide selection aft 4 hype-filled years astatine Iowa, including her elder play wherever she became the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader.

In 2025, it’ll apt beryllium Bueckers being the newest No. 1 prime sensation to adhd to the increasing WNBA popularity.