Probabilities rather than miracles ruled Sunday night. The WNBA draft lottery gave the Sky their most likely outcome — the No. 5 pick. The Wings, who had the best odds, will once again draft first. Last year they selected All-WNBA guard Paige Bueckers with the top pick.
There isn’t a consensus No. 1 pick this time around as there was with Bueckers. But there are some intriguing options at the top, with Spanish center Awa Fam and TCU point guard Olivia Miles likely to be gobbled up right away.
Still, the Sky will have legitimate difference-makers on the board. At No. 5, they could land LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson or South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson — both creative scorers who could help on the perimeter.
The other order of business on lottery night was that the bill from their 2024 trade with the Lynx finally came due. That deal allowed them to draft Angel Reese, who’s since become a franchise cornerstone. But it also meant turning over their 2026 first-rounder, which ended up at No. 2.
Not exactly ideal for the rest of the league that the formidable Lynx will add yet another top prospect.
In addition to No. 5, the Sky hold three second-round picks. They also plan to bring 19-year-old Slovenian forward Ajsa Sivka — their No. 10 pick last year — over this season.
Overall, the Sky have serious roster work ahead. They’ve gone 23-61 over the last two seasons, and the project still centers on the 2024 draft duo: Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. Veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot will be returning from an ACL tear, and the team hopes her playmaking can unlock their young bigs.
But the Sky need to add All-Star-level talent and shore up a defense that was among the league’s worst last season.
This will be general manager Jeff Pagliocca’s third draft, and his second in partnership with coach Tyler Marsh. While Pagliocca values the draft, he told the Sun-Times last season he prefers building through trades and free agency. There will be plenty of opportunities to do that with all but two veterans hitting free agency during the upcoming signing period, which typically begins in late January.
That’s assuming players and the league agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. Negotiations are ongoing, with revenue share still the sticking point. The league is offering salaries several times higher than they are now, but players have continued to push for a revenue split closer to major men’s leagues.
The 2026 draft will take place in April after the college season. Pagliocca’s first draft, in 2024, charted the course by selecting Cardoso third and Reese seventh. Last year’s class didn’t move the needle much, though Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld have potential as development projects.
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