WNBA Draft

SOURCE SPORTS: Dallas Wings Win 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery, Earn First Overall Pick

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The Dallas Wings emerged victorious in the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery, presented by State Farm, and will hold the first overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft on Monday, April 14, 2025.

The announcement came during the WNBA Draft Lottery special, aired following the TCU vs. North Carolina State women’s basketball game. This marks the first time in franchise history that the Wings have won the lottery after participating 11 times previously.

The Los Angeles Sparks secured the second overall pick, followed by the Chicago Sky in third and the Washington Mystics in fourth. Lottery odds were determined by the two-year cumulative records of the four teams that missed the playoffs in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Sparks had the highest chances with a combined 25-55 record over the past two years, while Dallas and Chicago each had a 227 in 1,000 chance based on their 31-49 record.

A key aspect of the lottery was Dallas’ 2023 trade with Chicago, which allowed the Wings to swap first-round picks with the Sky if their pick fell below Chicago’s, ensuring they would hold the top selection. Ernst & Young overseen the lottery, which marks the 13th consecutive year ESPN has broadcasted the event. The full draft order will be determined based on teams’ regular-season records from 2024.

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SOURCE SPORTS: Angel Reese Declares for 2024 WNBA Draft

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Angel Reese is headed to the WNBA. An a Vogue exclusive, Reese announced she is taking her talent to the WNBA.

Reese stated the interview was inspired by Serena Williams. She states she has done everything in the NCAA and it is time to move on.

“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” Reese said. “I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, I’ve been an All-American. My ultimate goal is to be a pro—and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I’m ready.”

You can read the full story here.

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Is Angel Reese Declaring For The WNBA Draft? Fans Eye Senior Day For Potential Announcement

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Angel Reese could make her intentions about her future known later today as LSU closes out its regular season with a home game against Kentucky. However, the game will also serve as LSU’s Senior Day, namely for Reese and Hailey Van Lith. However, whether it will be Reese’s final regular season game at the college level remains to be seen. Reese could declare for the WNBA Draft, following the example of Caitlin Clark. Despite this, she could opt to use her COVID waiver year, like UConn’s Paige Bueckers.

Earlier in the week, a cryptic tweet from Reese led fans to deduce that she is preparing to announce what direction her immediate future takes. “Should I stay, should I go? I don’t know,” Reese tweeted over a tribute video for LSU’s Senior Day. The quote stems from the 1998 track “I Don’t Know” from Keb’ Mo’. As mentioned, Reese has one more year of eligibility. Furthermore, she is one of the nation’s top NIL earners.

Read More: Shaq Is A “Father Figure” To Angel Reese, LSU Star Declares

Angel Reese Joins Elite LSU Club With 2000th Point

Meanwhile, Angel Reese became the sixth LSU WBB player to score 2000 points as she surpassed the mark in a dominant win over Tennessee. Reese joined Joyce Walker, Seimone Augustus, Julie Gross, Cornelia Grayden, and Sylvia Fowles in the exclusive club. Reese began her career at Maryland, where she scored 719 points. However, she is now forever linked with the Tigers. Reese’s mark hit 2006 after scoring 11 against the Volunteers.

Reese and LSU are second in the SEC. However, that is as close to a regular season title as they will get this season after South Carolina guaranteed themselves that honor for the eighth time in 11 seasons. Instead, Reese and company will look to finish out the season against Kentucky before turning their attention to the SEC tournament and then, a March Madness tournament they will enter as defending champions. LSU is currently a three-seed in ESPN‘s latest bracketology.

Read More: Angel Reese’s Pep Talk For Hailey Van Lith Draws Draymond Green & Kevin Durant Comparisons

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Caitlin Clark Declares For WNBA Draft

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Presumptive women’s National Player of the Year and No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft Caitlin Clark has officially declared that she will enter the draft pool. “It is impossible to fully express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me during my time at Iowa,” Clark wrote on social media. Clark will close out her career with a final regular-season game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. However, her career will still include another Big Ten tournament and a NCAA Tournament. Iowa will likely enter the conference tournament as the second seed after Ohio State captured the regular season title earlier this week.

Furthermore, this now means that Clark will have around 10 games left in her career. This is providing a run to the National Championship. As a result, she can continue adding to her record-setting scoring legacy. Clark is 18 points shy of breaking Pete Maravich’s all-NCAA scoring record of 3,667. Looking past the season-ending game against Ohio State, Clark could break the all-level women’s college record. That was set in the pre-NCAA AIAW by Pearl Moore.

Read More: Caitlin Clark Collides With Fan During Court Invasion: Watch

Caitlin Clark’s Last Dance Generating Huge Ticket Prices

Elsewhere, the final regular-season home game for Caitlin Clark at Iowa has shattered ticket price records for both NCAA WBB and WNBA games. Per Vivid Seats, the most expensive ticket for Iowa-Ohio State this weekend comes in at an eye-watering $5,199. The lowest available tickets will set fans back $408. When Clark broke the NCAA women’s scoring record against Michigan earlier this month, tickets were $337.

Clark turned 22 in February 2024. She is part of the final class of players who can declare for a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has been one of the best, if not the best, players in women’s college basketball during her time at Iowa. She won National Player of the Year last year. She was second in scoring average as well as first in assists and made threes. She currently leads the nation in scoring this season as well.

Read More: Caitlin Clark Immortalized In The Most Iowa Way Possible

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Paige Bueckers Forgoes WNBA Draft To Play Another Year At UConn, Basketball World Stunned

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UConn star Paige Bueckers has stunned the basketball world by announcing that she will remain at UConn for at least one more season. “I know everybody wants me to address the elephant in the room. Unfortunately this will not be my last senior night here at UConn. Just the family camaraderie here, just loving it here, loving my teammates, loving my coaches, me not having the four years that I planned on, not being able to play as much,” Bueckers told SNY following a routine win over Georgetown for the Huskies.

Bueckers was a projected lottery pick in April’s WNBA Draft. However, there was also the chance that the vaunted prospect and 2021 National Player of the Year might stay in college another season. Bueckers’ collegiate career has been consistently plagued by injury, including missing most of her sophomore year and the entirety of her junior year. Furthermore, the move makes Bueckers the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. ESPN‘s most recent mock draft for 2024 had Bueckers being selected third overall.

Read More: Paige Bueckers Signs Multi-Year Deal With Nike

Caitlin Clark Shatters WBB Scoring Record

Meanwhile, presumptive No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark officially became the NCAA women’s scoring record holder this week. It was only fitting that Caitlin Clark hit a signature logo three to break Kelsey Plum‘s record. Iowa opened their Big Ten matchup against Michigan with Clark eight points shy of the record. Clark scored all eight of Iowa’s opening points to pause the game less than two-and-a-half minutes after it started to let her soak in her achievement. However, she wasn’t finished. Clark scored a career-high 49 points as Iowa routed the Wolverines 106-89, shattering Plum’s record in the process.

The record might be hers, but Clark is far from done. Iowa are second in the Big Ten standings with a 12-2 conference record. They have four games remaining in the regular season, including conference-deciding matchups against No. 14 Indiana and No. 2 Ohio State. After that comes the Big Ten Tournament and March Madness. With Clark expected to become the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, it would be only fitting for her to end her college career by avenging last year’s National Championship defeat. However, there is another record well within Clark’s sight. Thanks to her massive game against Michigan, Clark is now just 98 points behind the all-time NCAA scoring record. That has stood since 1970 when LSU legend Pete Maravich ended his college career with 3,667 points.

Read More: Caitlin Clark Still Undecided About Declaring For WNBA Draft

Reactions To Paige Bueckers Staying At UConn

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WNBA Draft Had Twitter Going Wild

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Monday night was WNBA Draft night. The event was hosted at Manhattan’s Spring Studios New York and exclusively broadcast on ESPN. The league’s 12 teams gathered to select the young collegiate stars they hope will become cornerstones of their franchise. The WNBA draft is comprised of three rounds and 36 total picks. 15 players were invited to attend the draft in person.

The 2023 Draft was one of the most hyped stagings in recent memory. Hours before it began, the league announced the expansion of charter flight use. Furthermore, the wealth of talent available had experts hailing the class’ depth. However, this also led to the usual lamentations about the league’s size, and thus the players who would go undrafted. The Indiana Fever held the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history.

WNBA Draft Provides Chaos And Surprises

The draft began as many experts had predicted. The Indiana Fever took South Carolina standout first overall and the Minnesota Lynx took Maryland star Diamond Miller second. Then the Dallas Wings, who initially held the third and fifth picks, managed to take three players in a row. The Wings selected Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist third, immediately traded for the rights to Iowa State’s Stephanie Soares when the Washington Mystics took her fourth, and then took UConn’s Lou Lopez Senechal fifth. Dallas’ aggressive moves aside, few mock drafts had Soares and Senechal going as high as the top five.

The surprises continued to come throughout the three-round draft. South Carolina’s Brea Beal, projected to go at the end of the first round, fell to the end of the second. Angel Reese‘s teammate Alexis Morris also had to wait until the end of the second to hear her name called. However, by the end of the night, 36 players had been drafted. That included five from South Carolina alone, making the Gamecocks the third school (and fourth class overall) to see that many players drafted. Meanwhile, the Wings eventually ended the night with six total players, with four in the top-15. Eyes will now turn to May and the start of the 2023 WNBA season to see how this rookie class fares on the court.

Twitter Reacts

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SOURCE SPORTS: Atlanta Dream Selects Rhyne Howard First Overall In The 2022 WNBA Draft

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The 2022 WNBA draft returned to live presentation format after going virtual for two years. The Atlanta Dream selected Kentucky standout Rhyne Howard, number one in the draft.

Howard fills an immediate need for the Dream, which went 8-24 last season. Howard is an elite scorer who can shoot from outside and get buckets in the paint.

The Indiana Fever selected NaLyssa Smith with the second pick in the draft. The Baylor standout averaged 22 points and 15 rebounds last season. The Teas native won the Wade Trophy as the nation’s best player last season.

The Washington Mystics selected Shakira Austin from Ole Miss with the third pick. Austin averaged 15 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks per game last season.

She averaged 15.2 points per game and nine rebounds and is a two-time All-SEC forward. Austin also helped Ole Miss get their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007.

The Fever used the fourth pick to select forward Emily Engstler of Louisville. A transfer from Syracuse, the Queens, N.Y. native was a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award as the nation’s best small forward and a semifinalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year award. The senior led the ACC in steals (2.7 spg), was third in rebounding (6.7 RPG), and was an All-ACC First Team and All-Defensive Team selection.

The New York Liberty selected Nyara Sabally of Oregon with the fifth pick. The two-time All-Pac-12 selection was a finalist for the 2021-22 Katrina McClain Award, leading Oregon in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg).

That rounds out the top five picks of a very deep draft. The WNBA season tips off on May 6, with training camps opening later this week.

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