In just a few weeks, the WNBA will host its 2023 Draft Lottery presented by State Farm! Broadcasting live on ESPN, the network will be doing the honors for the 11th consecutive year!
On the 11th, ESPN2 will air a 30-minute WNBA Draft Lottery special (starting at 5:30 PM ET), that will segue into the scheduled women’s college basketball match-up between South Carolina and Maryland (6 PM ET). So, which teams have qualified for the 22nd annual WNBA Draft Lottery? The Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics, and Minnesota Lynx, will have the opportunity to secure the top pick in the WNBA Draft 2023 taking place on Monday, April 10, 2023.
Lottery odds are based on cumulative records of the two most recent regular seasons (2021 and 2022). For the Indiana Fever, their cumulative record of 11-57 gives them the likely edge to land the top pick, and are guaranteed at least the third pick. Atlanta, who posted a 22-46 record, has a 276 out 1,000 chance of nabbing the number one pick.
So, how will the drawing work?
Fourteen balls, numbered 1-14, will be placed in a lottery machine, and mixed. Four balls will then 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 pic. The team with the lowest cumulative two-year record, whose numerical combinations do not come up in the first four-ball combos, will select the third and the remaining team will select the 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.
