Draft to take place Friday, November 11
– Indiana, Atlanta, Washington, and Minnesota Will Vie for No. 1 Overall Draft Pick –
NEW YORK, – WNBA Draft Lottery 2023 presented by State Farm® will be broadcast on Friday, Nov. 11, at 5:30 p.m. ET, the WNBA announced today.
ESPN2 will air a 30-minute WNBA Draft Lottery special leading into its women’s college basketball game that evening featuring defending National Champion South Carolina at Maryland (6 p.m. ET). WNBA Head of League Operations Bethany Donaphin will reveal the results of the Lottery during ESPN2’s coverage from Bristol, Conn. ESPN networks will present the Draft Lottery for the 11th consecutive year.
The Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics (from Los Angeles via Atlanta), and Minnesota Lynx have qualified for the 22nd annual WNBA Draft Lottery. The winner will secure the top pick in WNBA Draft 2023 presented by State Farm®, which is currently scheduled to take place on Monday, April 10.
Lottery odds are based on the cumulative records of the two most recent regular seasons (2021 and 2022). With a cumulative record of 11-57, the Fever will have the most chances to land the top pick (442 out of 1,000) and are guaranteed at least the third pick.
Atlanta, which posted a combined record over two seasons of 22-46, will have 276 chances out of 1,000 to win the top pick. Washington has the third-most chances (178) after obtaining the right to swap its own 2023 first-round pick with Atlanta for Los Angeles’ (25-43) 2023 first-round pick previously acquired by Atlanta in a deal in February 2022. Minnesota (36-32) has 104 chances.
In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in a lottery machine and mixed. Four balls will be drawn to determine a four-digit combination. The team assigned that four-ball combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The four balls will then be placed back into the machine and the process will be repeated to determine the second pick. The team with the lowest cumulative two-year record whose numerical combinations do not come up in the first two four-ball combinations will select third and the remaining team will select fourth.
The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third rounds is determined by inverse order of the teams’ respective regular-season records solely from 2022. A representative from the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance to oversee the Draft Lottery process. Below are the number of chances for teams to land the top pick in WNBA Draft Lottery 2023 presented by State Farm®.
