The Dallas Wings won the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery on Sunday and will now have the No. 1 overal pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft next April. UConn star Paige Bueckers, who was named Naismith Player of the Year as a freshman in 2021, but has dealt with injury problems since then, is projected to be the top pick.
Rounding out the lottery are the Los Angeles Sparks at No. 2, the Chicago Sky at No. 3 and the Washington Mystics at No. 4. Missing out on Bueckers is a big blow to all of those franchises, but there are a number of other talented players in this class.
Now that the full draft order is set, let's look at some of the winners and losers from Sunday's big event:
Winner: Dallas Wings
Just because it's obvious doesn't mean it's not true. The Wings are the biggest winner from Sunday's lottery.
For the second time in franchise history, the Wings will get to make the first pick in the draft. The first time was in 2021, which featured one of the worst draft classes ever. (Not a single player from that class has made an All-Star Game.) They selected Charli Collier, who only played 45 games for the team.
This time, they'll get to add Bueckers, who is a generational talent and as close to a sure thing as you can get in the draft. She is a brilliant offensive player, capable of operating both on and off the ball, which should make the fit with Arike Ogunbowale work, and has made real strides on the defensive end. The Wings are resetting things again this offseason, and now that Bueckers is en route they have a foundational piece to build around.
Speaking of building around Bueckers, it will be interesting to see how her arrival impacts the Wings' plans. Perhaps most notably, Satou Sabally is an unrestricted free agent and has been open about looking elsewhere. Would she reconsider to play with Bueckers? And in general, will the Wings be able to attract free agents interested in playing with an elite playmaker like Bueckers? We'll soon find out.
Regardless, the Wings are in a much better place than they were a few hours ago.
Loser: Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks are enduring the worst run in franchise history. They haven't been to the playoffs since the bubble season in 2020, which is not only their longest ever playoff drought, but the longest active one in the league. Last season, their No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink tore her ACL 15 games in, and they finished in last place at 8-32.
To make matters worse, all of their losing didn't even get them the best lottery odds. Because the Wings had swap rights with the Sky's first-round pick this year, they would get the No. 1 pick if either they or the Sky won the lottery. The combined chances of that happening (45.4%) were better than the Sparks' best individual odds (44.2%).
Sure enough, the Sparks lost out and will pick second for the second consecutive year. There are worse fates, of course, but missing out on Bueckers is a real blow after everything that's gone wrong in recent years. She would have been a perfect fit next to Brink and No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 draft Rickea Jackson.
Winner: Curt Miller
On Sept. 24, the Sparks fired Curt Miller after two seasons in charge. While he failed to get the team back to the playoffs and went 25-55 during his tenure, there were big picture problems along the way that were out of his control -- namely talent drain and extensive injury problems.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for the two-time Coach of the Year to find a new job. However, he is not going back to the sidelines. On Nov. 8, the Wings announced they hired Miller as their new general manager and executive vice president.
Perhaps no one on earth was watching the lottery with as much interest as Miller given his new role and the two teams with the best chance of winning the No. 1 pick. Sure enough, he took to social media immediately after the results were announced.
Let’s Go! pic.twitter.com/IJETDLKDQh
— Curt Miller (@CurtMillerWBB) November 17, 2024
What a turn of events for Miller, who will now get to build a team around Bueckers instead of staying in Los Angeles to coach a Sparks team that missed out on the top pick.
Loser: Chicago Sky
The Sky were always going to be a loser in the lottery. In one of former coach and general manager James Wade's many shortsighted moves before his sudden resignation during the 2023 season, he traded an absurd collection of draft capital to acquire Marina Mabrey from the Dallas Wings. That included swap rights for the Sky's first-round pick in 2025.
As a result, the Sky were unable to come away with the No. 1 pick on Sunday. Even if they had won the lottery, the pick would have gone to the Wings. They have still never had the first pick in franchise history and will now make the No. 3 overall selection for the second consecutive year.
Perhaps the worst aspect of this situation for the Sky is that they're not only still dealing with the effects of the Mabrey trade, but will be for years to come. Bueckers' playmaking, shooting and overall versatility on both sides of the ball would have made her a perfect fit next to Chennedy Carter, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
The chance to draft players like Bueckers doesn't come around very often, and the Sky never even had a chance because an executive who no longer works for them overpaid for a player who no longer plays for them.
Winner: Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen
Brink and Iriafen played together at Stanford for three seasons from 2022-24. During that time, they went 91-16, won three Pac-12 regular season titles, a Pac-12 Tournament championship, made the 2022 Final Four and ultimately formed one of the most dynamic frontcourts in the country.
Now, they have a chance to resume that partnership at the professional level. The Sparks missed out on the No. 1 pick and Bueckers, but received the No. 2 selection as a consolation prize. Barring a major turn of events in the coming months, Iriafen will be the Sparks' choice.
Iriafen transferred to USC this season to team up with JuJu Watkins and is off to an excellent start. She's averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds on 54% from the field and has already made as many 3-pointers in her first four games as she did in her three seasons at Stanford.
One of the biggest challenges for any rebuilding team is finding players that are both talented and fit well together. We already know Brink and Iriafen check both boxes. Their friendship and connection on the court will make everything easier for them and the Sparks.
