WNBA Draft Lottery: What to Know About Storm’s Chances at 1st Pick
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The Seattle Storm are one of five teams in the 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery. They have the third-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick. Credit: Dominique Malonga/Instagram [/caption]
The Seattle Storm will join the Dallas Wings, Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky in the 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, Nov. 23. Seattle, which picked No. 2 overall in 2025, will have a chance at the No. 1 overall pick.
Lottery odds are based on the previous two-year cumulative records of each non-playoff team from this past season. The Wings, which have gone a combined 19-65 in 2024 and 2025, have the best odds (420 out of 1,000) and will be guaranteed the third overall pick at worst.
The Storm are in a unique situation, as they own the Los Angeles Sparks’ first-round pick — acquired in the 2024 trade that sent Kia Nurse to LA (now with the Chicago Sky). Thus, the odds of Seattle’s pick are based on the Sparks’ record, not the Storm’s.
Seattle traded for the No. 2 pick last season after the lottery, so they weren’t among the teams in the selection. This will be a different situation.
Los Angeles has a combined record of 29-55 over the past two seasons, giving the Storm the third-best odds out of the five non-playoff teams that are in the lottery (167 out of 1,000). The Lynx are getting their lottery pick from the Chicago Sky, who have another selection in the top 5, and Minnesota has the second-best odds between the Wings and Storm (167 out of 1,000).
The Mystics (30-54 record) have the fourth-best odds, and the Sky, which have their other pick from the Connecticut Sun (39-45 record), are in fifth.
Only the first two picks are determined by the lottery. From there, the remaining three teams will be ordered by cumulative record. If the Sky and Mystics somehow landed the first two picks, the Storm would pick fifth. More likely, however, they will be somewhere between No. 2 to No. 4.
Seattle selected Dominique Malonga with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and she is slated to be the future face of the franchise after emerging in the latter half of the season. The pick used on Malonga was acquired by the Storm in the three-team Jewell Loyd trade.
Malonga was Seattle’s first pick inside the top 3 since 2016, when the franchise selected Breanna Stewart No. 1 overall. The Storm now have a chance to pick in the first three selections for the second straight year.
The draft lottery will be broadcast on ESPN, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 23.
