The New York Liberty have the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft for the second consecutive year, winning the lottery Friday.
The Liberty had the best chance to win the lottery at 44.2%. Atlanta was second at 27.6%. Dallas third 17.8% and Indiana fourth at 10.4%. The WNBA determines its percentages on the two-year record of the four participants.
Unlike last season when New York took Sabrina Ionescu with the top pick, there is no clear-cut consensus choice as the No. 1 this year with a host of talented seniors, including Louisville’s Dana Evans, UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere, Arizona’s Aari McDonald and Tennessee’s Rennia Davis leading the way.
It could get more complicated though as the NCAA granted all basketball players an extra season of eligibility because of COVID-19 so all four could decide to go back to school next year.
Dallas will pick second with Atlanta third and Indiana fourth. The Dallas franchise has been in the draft lottery 10 times now and has never received the first pick — a WNBA record. The Wings also will have a new coach next spring as Vickie Johnson has agreed in principle to take over a person familiar with the situation said Thursday. She replaces Brian Agler, who was fired in October.
Johnson has been an assistant for the Las Vegas Aces after serving as the team’s head coach for the franchise’s final season in San Antonio in 2017. The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity to the AP because no announcement of Johnson’s hiring has been made.
Johnson and Dallas will have three of the first seven picks as the Wings also hold the fifth pick and seventh pick through trades made over the last few years. Phoenix has the sixth pick. Chicago, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Seattle and Las Vegas close out the first round.
The lottery teams were the same as last season.
