2026 WNBA draft

The Women's National Basketball Association(WNBA)'s draft for 2026 season will be held following the 2025-26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. This will be the first draft for the leagues two newest expansion teams : Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.

2026 WNBA Draft
General information
Sport	Basketball
Date	April 13, 2026
Network	USA : ESPN
Overview
45 total selections in 3 rounds
League	Women's National Basketball Association
Teams	15
Expansion team	Portland Fire Toronto Tempo
←  2025 2027 →

Draft lottery

In November, 2025 , the WNBA announced that the 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery would be held on November 23, 2025.^[1][2] The Draft Lottery will decide the order of the first 5 picks in the 2026 WNBA draft. It will be televised on ESPN in the United States.^[1] The five teams that failed to qualify for 2024 WNBA playoffs will be a part of the draft lottery.

Lottery chances

The Lottery chances are based on the combined record from 2024 and 2025 seasons. 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.^[1]

A representative from the league’s independent accounting firm, Ernst & Young, will be in attendance to oversee the draft lottery process.^[1]

Below are the number of chances for teams to land the top pick in WNBA Draft Lottery 2026.

Team	Combined 2024–25 record	Lottery chances	Result
Dallas Wings	19–65	42.0%	TBD
Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago Sky)[a]	23–61	26.1%	TBD
Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles Sparks)[b]	29–55	16.7%	TBD
Washington Mystics	30–54	9.7%	TBD
Chicago Sky (from Connecticut Sun)[c]	39–45	5.5%	TBD

1. April 13, 2025: Chicago to Minnesota^[3][4]

   • Minnesota acquired the outright 2026 first-round draft pick, and extinguished previous right to exchange 2026 first-round draft picks with Chicago
   • Chicago acquired the 2025 No. 11 draft pick (Hailey Van Lith)
2. January 31, 2024: Seattle to Los Angeles^[5]

   • Los Angeles acquired Kia Nurse and a 2024 first-round pick (Rickea Jackson)
   • Seattle acquired a 2026 first-round pick
3. July 17, 2024: Connecticut to Chicago^[6]

   • Chicago acquired Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round pick (Ajša Sivka), and the right to swap 2026 first-round picks
   • Connecticut acquired Marina Mabrey and a 2025 second-round pick (Rayah Marshall)