Key events
The Indiana Fever select Raven Johnson with the No 10 pick
Few players have a resumé of winning to compare with Johnson’s. She finished her South Carolina career with four national championship appearances, five Final Fours, five conference championships and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors this year. Her extra season with the Gamecocks improved her shooting and command and helped her jump into the top-10 conversation.
Indiana are one of several teams who want to win this season, and as the saying goes, defense wins championships. Johnson is one of those scrappy, gritty players who teams love to stash and send off the bench to close out games.
The Washington Mystics select Angela Dugalić with the No 9 pick
Dugalić is the fourth (!) UCLA Bruin selected tonight. She was a starter for UCLA in 2024-25 but accepted a role off the bench this past season. Her rewards: Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year honors, a national championship and a top-10 draft spot.
A stretch four who can rebound and also shoot from distance, her stock rose during the tournament and Washington will be happy to see what she can do in camp.
It’s too bad this pick wasn’t announced while Lauren Betts was still talking to media. It would have been fun to reveal that she’s got another former teammate joining her in Washington.
Flau’jae Johnson had a special guest on stage after she was selected by the Valkyries at No 8: her little brother.
New Mystics draftee Lauren Betts says she can’t wait to play with Kiki Iriafen – her former teammate at Stanford and an All-Star as a rookie after being drafted No 4 last year.
On UCLA’s wave of early draftees: “I want to say I’m surprised, but I’m not. … To have this night showcase all of the things we worked on all season is really amazing.”
The Golden State Valkyries select Flau’jae Johnson with the No 8 pick
Johnson has a high upside as a player. We saw it in her first three seasons at LSU, including the title-winning 2022-23 campaign, and on more than one occasion this season, with a strong NCAA tournament and career-highs in three-point shooting and assists while leading the nation’s top scoring offense.
Inconsistency is what may have knocked her from the lottery spots to the late first round. That said, her two-way production is still something a lot of teams will like to have. I’m excited to see her game – and her music, given she’s signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation as a rapper – on the pro stage.
The Portland Fire select Iyana Martín with the No 7 pick
US-based women’s basketball fans watching the Americans’ World Cup qualifying game against Spain last month may have been keeping a closer eye on Awa Fam, but Martín also made herself known to local audiences. Her six assists were the second most of any player, trailing only Caitlin Clark’s seven. In 2023, she won MVP at the U19 World Cup. (Clark was MVP of the previous edition.)
She’s undersized for a WNBA point guard at 5ft 9in, but she has room to grow and enough experience playing professionally in Europe for teams to Portland to be smart to grab her.
Olivia Miles is the first of the draftees to talk to the media. She’s excited to “be a sponge” in Minnesota and play for Lindsay Whalen, a former top WNBA point guard herself.
Miles also named Lynx star Napheesa Collier as one of the players she’s most excited to play with in the league.
The Toronto Tempo select Kiki Rice with the No 6 pick
Three in a row for UCLA!
Ahead of a draft pretty heavy with point guard options, Rice had a strong tournament (12.8 points, 5.2 rebounds). She’s willing to drive to the rim, create for her teammates – she and Lauren Betts certainly made each other better – and can defend on and off the ball. There are a few places where she could have fit – Portland, Chicago, Golden State, or Washington, where she grew up and balled with Barack Obama on occasion. In Toronto, she’ll likely back up Julie Allemand – and be rivals with Betts instead of pick-and-roll partners.
It’s possible that no player boosted their draft stock during the NCAA Tournament as much as Gabriela Jaquez.
Across the Timeline compiles mock drafts from across different sites. Of the nine outlets the site surveyed, Jaquez was not projected as a top-five pick in any of them. Four outlets had her at No 8.
A nice moment from Lauren Betts to ESPN’s Holly Rowe on the stage: “I feel like I just play with joy. … You could just see all the positivity that I play with” this season.
Joy was the theme of March Madness this year, as Stephanie Kaloi noted for the Guardian:
The Chicago Sky select Gabriela Jaquez with the No 5 pick
It didn’t take long for the next UCLA player to come off the board. This one is a bit of a surprise!
Jaquez had a championship game to remember (21 points and 10 rebounds) and reminded watchers why she deserved to be in any predictions of UCLA first-rounders. She had career bests across the board this season – 13.5 points, 53.9% from the field, 39% from three, 86% from the line – and has the Swiss-army knife versatility that teams love to have. (Fun fact: She really did it all at UCLA. She joined the Bruins’ softball team for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.)
Her hustle reminds me of Lexie Hull – also a player from a California school who did the dirty work on a team of stars en route to a national championship.
Lauren Betts is the first UCLA player off the draft board. The record for most players selected from a single school is five, set by South Carolina in 2023.
The Washington Mystics select Lauren Betts with the No 4 pick
Lauren Betts proved she deserved to be considered as a top-four pick in this year’s NCAA Tournament, where she powered the Bruins to their first national title with blocks, shots and everything in between. She’s arguably the top defender in the draft – her block of Madison Booker in the Final Four is the best defensive highlight since … ? – and her finishing was good during the tournament, when she shot 60% from the field.
You can argue that Betts could’ve gone even higher, but the Mystics feel like a good fit. Betts’s former Stanford teammate, Kiki Iriafen, showed last season how the Mystics can develop their rookies into standout All-Star talent.
A few quotes from the first few draftees:
Olivia Miles:
I think I have the highest IQ as a guard. … The way that I play and the way I flow to the game, I feel like I fit really well.
Awa Fam:
Being here in the W, it was my dream since I was 12 years old. … I know that I’m only 20 years old, but I want to take responsibility and do my best.
The Seattle Storm select Awa Fam with the No 3 pick
Nineteen years old, 6ft 4in, a pro since she was 15. It’s fair to say Awa Fam may have the highest ceiling of any prospect in this year’s draft. Now she’ll get a chance to show off that talent in Seattle.
Arguably most hyped international prospect since Hall of Famer Lauren Jackson, Fam can stretch the floor, read the game well and move fluidly with her height. She starred for Spain during World Cup qualifying and has averaged 9.2 points and 5.0 rebounds for Valencia in the Spanish league. Other players in the draft may be more polished, but Fam is both an investment for the future and someone who can/should get minutes right away.
Azzi Fudd is the eighth UConn player to be drafted No 1 overall.
The Minnesota Lynx select Olivia Miles with the No 2 pick
Miles is a dynamic pass-first point guard. She finished seventh in the nation with an average of 6.6 assists, and that aspect of her game could take another leap playing alongside a higher level of talent and creator than she had on the roster at TCU. Her shooting has improved since her breakout seasons at Notre Dame. Her defense needs improvement, but her court vision is good enough to justify teams taking her high, and Minnesota needed a young point guard.
Azzi Fudd is the second daughter of a former draftee to be selected in the draft herself. In 2001, Katie Fudd (then Katie Smrcka-Duffy) was picked No 62 overall by the Sacramento Monarchs. Pamela McGee and Imani McGee-Stafford were the first.
In a nice bit of literal symmetry, Azzi Fudd is the No 1 pick in ’26 after Katie Fudd was the No 62 pick in ’01.
The Dallas Wings select Azzi Fudd with the No 1 pick
Azzi Fudd had a quiet finish to the NCAA Tournament by her own standards. She went off for a career-high 34 points in the second round, but managed just 13, 10 and 8 in the final three games. (To be fair, her own standards are high: she averaged 17.5 points and won Most Outstanding Player honors during UConn’s title-winning run last season.) Some speculated as to whether the Huskies’ Final Four exit and dour end to an undefeated campaign would affect Fudd’s draft stock. Now we see it didn’t!
Fudd is one of the best pure shooters the sport has seen in the past few years, with the footwork and quick releases coaches dream of. She improved both from the field (47.4% to 48.1%) and from deep (43.6% to 44.7%) and was a sparkplug for UConn defensively (2.5 steals per game). She’ll reunite in Dallas with former Huskies teammate and girlfriend Paige Bueckers.
The Dallas Wings are on the clock. Fudd, Fam, Miles, Betts? We’ll see in a few minutes!
The draft is getting under way.
Making a WNBA roster has never been a sure bet, even for high draftees. Historically, only about half of rookies drafted are signed with teams by the first day of the season. Two years ago, there were only 144 roster spots available in the entire league. It’s not uncommon for college All-Americans – or even national players of the year – to be cut before the season starts.
The terms of the new CBA, plus the latest rounds of expansion, should help draftees have more opportunities to stick around. The number of roster spots leaguewide is up to 210 this season. The CBA will allow teams to sign up to two developmental players who will not count against the salary cap or the 12-player roster limit.
LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson, a projected top-10 pick tonight, is more than just a star on the basketball court. She’s also a rapper signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. ESPN’s predraft panel joked that Johnson is going to become the first WNBA player to win a Grammy.
She replied, “Oh, absolutely. And I’m glad you know.”
Rookies are in for big salary bumps
Last year, No 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers got a $78,831 salary as a rookie. Tonight, the top pick will get a $500,000 salary.
That bump is thanks to the salary increases in the new collective bargaining agreement. The new CBA includes specific salary tiers for each of the top eight picks – for example, the No 2 pick will earn a base salary of $466,913. Second- and third-round picks who sign contracts with teams will earn the new league minimum of $270,000. That’s up from $69.3k for second-rounders and $66k for third-rounders last year.
How does the WNBA draft work?
The draft has three rounds with 15 picks each. The order of the top five overall picks were determined by a lottery system. Picks No 6 and No 7 go to the two new expansion teams. The rest of the picks in each round are ordered from worst to best records.
More from the orange carpet:
Potential No 1 pick Azzi Fudd talked to ESPN with cheers from several of her UConn teammates in the background.
“It’s my moment to be excited, but I am here because of everyone who poured into me. It’s my moment, but it’s our moment.”
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Five members of UCLA’s championship-winning team are in New York for the draft: Lauren Betts (the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player), Angela Dugalić, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens and Kiki Rice.
The Bruins could very well have four players drafted in the first round. If they do, it would be the first time a school had four first-rounders since UConn’s Fab Four of Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams in 2002.
The draftees have hit the orange carpet. Azzi Fudd is in a custom Coach sequined gray gown. Flau’jae Johnson told reporters she wanted to look like “the draft was at 6 and the Met Gala was at 6.30”.
Fudd is the favorite for No 1 pick, but it’s a tight race
For the past three years, the No 1 pick has been a foregone conclusion entering draft night. In 2022, it was South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston. In 2024, it was Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. Last year, it was UConn’s Paige Bueckers. This year is less certain.
Azzi Fudd, Olivia Miles, Awa Fam and Lauren Betts have all been speculated as No 1 pick options. As of Monday morning, Fudd was atop mock drafts by Bleacher Report, USA Today, CBS Sports and ESPN. The Athletic went with Miles.
The sportsbooks have Fudd as the frontrunner to be the top pick, followed by Fam, Betts and Miles.
Full WNBA draft order
First round
Dallas Wings
Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago Sky)
Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles Sparks)
Washington Mystics
Chicago Sky (from Connecticut Sun)
Toronto Tempo
Portland Fire
Golden State Valkyries
Washington Mystics (from Seattle Storm)
Indiana Fever
Washington Mystics (from New York Liberty)
Connecticut Sun (from Phoenix Mercury)
Atlanta Dream
Seattle Storm (from Las Vegas Aces)
Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota Lynx)
Second round
Seattle Storm (from Dallas Wings)
Portland Fire (from Chicago Sky)
Connecticut Sun
Washington Mystics
Los Angeles Sparks
Chicago Sky (from Portland Fire)
Toronto Tempo
Golden State Valkyries
Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle Storm)
Indiana Fever
Toronto Tempo (from New York Liberty)
Phoenix Mercury
Atlanta Dream
Las Vegas Aces
Washington Mystics (from Minnesota Lynx)
Third round
Dallas Wings
Chicago Sky
Connecticut Sun
Washington Mystics
Los Angeles Sparks
Toronto Tempo
Portland Fire
Golden State Valkyries
Seattle Storm
Indiana Fever
New York Liberty
Phoenix Mercury
Atlanta Dream
Las Vegas Aces
Minnesota Lynx
Bryan Armen Graham, Andrew Lawrence, Stephanie Kaloi and I made our predictions for how we think tonight will go. Who will go No 1? Who are some late-round sleepers? Which international players should you know?
Hello from New York! We’re an hour from the start of this year’s WNBA draft.
We come to you in the middle of a very packed offseason. Less than a month ago, the WNBA and its players agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement after more than a year of tense negotiations. Since then, the offseason has been a full-on sprint. The expansion draft for the league’s two new teams in Toronto and Portland took place on 3 April; March Madness wrapped up with UCLA’s win over South Carolina on 5 April; the free agency period officially opened last Monday; and now it’s draft time.
The biggest rising stars in the women’s game are here at the Shed at Hudson Yards. We’ve got the four main contenders to be the No 1 pick – UConn’s Azzi Fudd, TCU’s Olivia Miles, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Spanish phenom Awa Fam. LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, South Carolina’s Raven Johnson and Mississippi’s Cotie McMahon are also among the 15 players in attendance.
The draft begins at 7pm Eastern time. The players have already hit the orange carpet. (Photos to come!)
If you have any questions, predictions, thoughts, etc, send an email my way.
