By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-18 06:46:34 | Updated at 2024-11-23 04:07:54
4 days ago
The Dallas Wings have won the WNBA Draft Lottery and will have the first overall selection in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Dallas entered the night with the second-best odds for the top selection, but somehow managed to get drawn first in the order.
The Wings just beat out the Los Angeles Sparks - the team that entered with the top odds to get the first overall pick at 44 percent.
Los Angeles won the rights to the second overall pick in the draft, the Chicago Sky will be selecting third, and the Washington Mystics will go fourth.
Dallas now has the chance to potentially change the course of their franchise with this selection - mirroring the luck of the Indiana Fever, who selected Caitlin Clark first overall last season
Wings star Arike Ogunbowale even tweeted out in the aftermath of the lottery: 'I just fell to my knees. THANK YOU LORD!' alongside multiple crying emojis.
The Dallas Wings won the WNBA Draft Lottery and the right to pick first overall in 2025
The consensus projected top pick in the 2025 draft is UConn star guard Paige Bueckers
The question of who Dallas will pick seems by some to be a foregone conclusion, but it might not be as clear cut as it seems.
The top overall prospect in the 2025 WNBA Draft pool is obvious: it's UConn star point guard Paige Bueckers, one of the most well-rounded guard prospects in the history of women's college basketball.
But considering Dallas already has a star point guard in Ogunbowale - who has led the team in points for the past six years in a row - it's not inconceivable that the Wings could look to either move their draft pick or choose someone from a different position.
If Dallas chooses to look to a different position, they'd find a talented power forward in USC's Kiki Iriafen - who previously played at Stanford. Or, if they're interested in help at the shooting guard position, Bueckers' UConn teammate Azzi Fudd could be an option.
As for a trade, Dallas could leverage this pick as top trade bait - giving teams with an eye on rebuilding the chance to take Bueckers. But considering the level of talent that she brings, it's not likely that happens.
But it's not impossible either. In the past five WNBA drafts, the No. 1 overall pick has been traded twice after it's been awarded - in 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, Dallas acquired the top pick and used it on Charli Collier out of the University of Texas. She hasn't played in the WNBA since 2022.
The following season, the Atlanta Dream traded with the Washington Mystics for the top overall pick and used it to select Rhyne Howard from the University of Kentucky, who became a reliable starter for the Dream.
