Paige Bueckers can begin envisioning WNBA hoops in Texas after the conclusion of her four-year profession at UConn.
That future is sort of a certainty after the ping pong balls labored within the Dallas Wings’ favor within the 2024 WNBA Draft Lottery. With guard Maddy Siegrist, the third general choose within the 2023 WNBA Draft, current as Sunday’s franchise consultant, the Wings landed the No. 1 general choose within the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Bueckers, who nonetheless has one 12 months of NCAA eligibility remaining, will probably be the highest choose of the 2025 WNBA draft if she forgoes a last season at UConn.
Luck was in Dallas’ favor, with the franchise coming into Sunday’s lottery with the second-best odds (22.7%) to land the highest choose. The Los Angeles Spark, whom had the most effective odds (44.2%) to land the primary choose, settled for the second general choose.
The Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics will choose third and fourth, respectively.
The 4 groups that missed the WNBA postseason in 2024 had been entered into the draft lottery, and the chances for the No. 1 general choose had been decided by every group’s cumulative report previously two seasons. The Sparks owned the best odds (44.2%) after ending 25-55 through the 2023-24 seasons. The Wings and Sky owned the second-highest odds (22.7%) after each franchises went 31-49. Getting into the lottery, the Wings owned the appropriate to swap first-round picks with the Sky, which might’ve been exercised if Chicago ended up inserting greater than Dallas within the lottery.
The Mystics had the bottom odds (10.8%) for the highest choose after ending 33-47 previously two seasons.
2025 WNBA Draft Order:
1. Wings2. Sparks3. Sky4. Mystics5. Valkryies6. Mystics7. Mercury8. Fever9. Storm10. Sky11. Lynx12. Liberty (can swap first-round choose with Mercury)
Aces had first-round choose rescinded for violating league guidelines.
Picks 5 via 12 had been decided by the inverse order of every group’s 2024 regular-season report. The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s latest franchise, can have the fifth choose within the draft. The Las Vegas Aces at the moment don’t have a first-round choose in subsequent 12 months’s draft after the league rescinded it as a result of franchise violating league guidelines.
The defending champion Liberty are slated to choose twelfth, however have the appropriate to swap with the Phoenix Mercury’s seventh general choice. The choose swap was acquired in a 2023 four-team deal that introduced Leonie Fiebich to New York and despatched 2021 Rookie of the 12 months Michaela Onyenwere to Phoenix.
The 2024 draft noticed the Indiana Fever choose Caitlin Clark because the No. 1 general choice after 4 hype-filled years at Iowa, together with her senior season the place she grew to become the NCAA’s all-time scoring chief.
In 2025, it’ll probably be Bueckers being the latest No. 1 choose sensation so as to add to the rising WNBA reputation.
Bueckers is off to an excellent begin in her senior season at UConn: 21.3 factors, 4.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and three.0 steals whereas taking pictures 65% from the sphere and 50% from deep in three video games.
The Wings doubtlessly touchdown the UConn star might foster a dynamic backcourt with four-time All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale, who averaged 22.2 factors and 5.1 assists in her sixth WNBA season.
It’ll be an attention-grabbing offseason for the group now slated to pick first in subsequent 12 months’s draft. The franchise must make offseason choices on star forwards Natasha Howard and Satou Sabally, who’re unrestricted free brokers.
And the franchise can be on the hunt for a brand new head coach after firing Latricia Trammell following two seasons.
Initially Printed: November 17, 2024 at 5:31 PM EST
