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Christopher Boan is a writer with BetTexas.com, covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
How Do Early WNBA Draft Pick Teams Do?
To analyze the impact of early draft picks in the WNBA, BetTexas.com examined historical data of teams that held the first, second and third overall draft picks from Basketball-Reference.com. We looked at the past 10 seasons (2015-2024).
For each of these pick positions, the team's subsequent season's win-loss record was recorded. Then, the average win-loss record was calculated for all teams with the first pick, all teams with the second pick, and all teams with the third pick. This allows for a comparison of how teams performed after acquiring these top draft selections.
How Do Teams with A Top Three WNBA Draft Pick Do?
Draft Position | 10-Year Average Record |
First Pick | .370 |
Second Pick | .318 |
Third Pick | .395 |
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How Do Early WNBA Picking Teams Fare?
Ahead of the 2025 WNBA Draft that kicks off from Manhattan on April 14, it’s worth wondering where teams like the Dallas Stars, Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics will stand in 10 years’ time, as each of the three teams hold picks at the top of this year’s two-round event.
Based on the last decade, it seems like all three should expect their fair share of hardwood struggles, as the teams that have held either the No. 1, 2 or 3 pick in the WNBA Draft have posted winning percentages ranging from .318 to .395, speaking to the difficulty in rebuilding in the 13-team league.
In this year’s case, only the Wings have their own draft pick at the top of the 2025 event, with Seattle acquiring the No. 2 selection from the Los Angeles Sparks, while the Mystics received the third pick from the Chicago Sky in another trade.
In the Wings’ case, getting an established college player like Paige Bueckers out of UConn or Sonia Citron from Notre Dame could go a long way towards helping the club rebound from last year’s miserable 9-31 (.225) campaign, which came on the heels of three straight playoff runs in the heart of Texas.
Still, based on how other teams that held top picks in the draft have fared in recent years, it might be best to buy low on the Wings when the WNBA team that began play as the Detroit Shock back in 1998 takes to the court against the Minnesota Lynx on May 16 at College Park Center in Arlington in the team’s 2025 season opener.
USA Today photo by Nathan Ray Seebeck.
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