2026 WNBA Draft Lottery: Where to watch, date, time, TV, livestream, odds for No. 1 pick

The highly-anticipated 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery, which will determine which team receives the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft next spring, will be held on Nov. 23, the league announced on Friday. The Dallas Wings have the best odds for the top pick. A date for the 2026 draft has not yet been announced. 

The WNBA offseason has been in a holding pattern due to the ongoing labor battle between the league and the players association, who recently agreed to a 30-day extension to continue negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. Until the two sides agree to a new CBA, none of the major items on the offseason agenda can take place, including the expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, free agency and the 2026 draft, because the rules for all of those events have to be collectively bargained. 

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However, the Draft Lottery falls outside the purview of the CBA. That is great news for all the teams involved, as they will finally know which pick they’ll receive. 

2026 WNBA Draft Lottery

Date: Sunday, Nov. 23 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ETTV: ESPN | Stream: fubo (try for free)

The five teams that missed the playoffs in the 2025 WNBA season were the Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Dallas Wings, Los Angeles Sparks and Washington Mystics. Those are not the five teams involved in the lottery, however, due to a series of trades. 

The Sky owe their first-round pick to the Minnesota Lynx and the Sparks owe their first-round pick to the Seattle Storm. In addition, the Sun owe swap rights to their first-round pick to the Sky. Because the Sky also own the Phoenix Mercury’s first-rounder, the Sky will get the more favorable of the Sun/Mercury picks, while the Sun will get the least favorable of those selections. With the Sun in the lottery and the Mercury in the playoffs, the Sky are guaranteed to receive the Sun’s pick. 

How the Lottery will work

Via the WNBA:

“In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in a lottery machine and mixed.  Four balls will be drawn to determine a four-digit combination.  The team assigned that four-ball combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The four balls will then be placed back into the machine and the process will be repeated to determine the second pick.  Of the three teams not selected in the drawings, the team with the worst cumulative two-year record shall select third; the team with the next worst record will select fourth; and the remaining team shall select fifth.

“A representative from the league’s independent accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance to oversee the Draft Lottery process.”

Lottery odds are based on the team that originally owns the pick. As a reminder, the WNBA calculates lottery odds based on the combined records of the past two seasons. 

Wings

19-65 

42%

Sky (owe to Lynx)

23-61

26.1%

Sparks (owe to Storm)

29-55

16.7%

Mystics

30-54

9.5%

Sun (owe to Sky)

39-45

5.5%

Previous No. 1 overall picks in each franchise’s history

Wings

Lynx

Storm

Mystics

Sky

Top prospects in the 2026 class

The 2026 class does not have a player on the same level as Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers, though to be fair, that’s an extremely high bar to reach. Still, there are a number of talented players set to enter the league who could immediately help their new franchises. 

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Spanish center Awa Fam and UCLA center Lauren Betts are seen as the top prospects, though there is no clear-cut choice for No. 1. The athletic and versatile Fam is still only 19, and while talented, will need a few years to develop. The 6-foot-7 Betts, meanwhile, is more of a traditional, back-to-the-basket center, and will not be a fit for every team. 

There are also an array of backcourt options in this class, including TCU’s Olivia Miles — who stunned everyone by returning to school and transferring from Notre Dame — UConn’s Azzi Fudd, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson and South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson.