The future of the Dallas Wings got a lot brighter as the franchise won the WNBA draft lottery on Sunday and with it the chance to draft UConn star Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick.
鈥淲e know what No. 1 draft picks have done to franchises and in recent years how they鈥檝e changed the trajectory of teams,鈥� said Wings general manager , who got that job nine days ago. 鈥淪o super excited to earn the No. 1 pick in 2025 draft.鈥�
Miller said he answered one text message from Wings star in the few minutes he had between the lottery and a Zoom call with the media.
鈥淐an鈥檛 be happier to see her excitement,鈥� he said. 鈥淩eally exciting times, can鈥檛 wait to get off Zoom and start to connect with the players.鈥�
Before Miller can figure out who the team will draft first, he has to hire a new coach for the franchise. He just started that process.
鈥淭he coaching search has already generated tremendous amounts of interest,鈥� he said. 鈥淐an鈥檛 begin to tell you the interest coming from not only the WNBA but also outside the WNBA. This is only going to increase it.鈥�
The day didn't start out great for Miller as his flight from Los Angeles to Dallas was canceled this morning, so he had to watch the draft from a coaching friend's office in California.
Bueckers, who is the consensus No. 1 pick, has had her career at UConn derailed by injuries. She was the first freshman to win before getting injured her sophomore season. She is healthy now and has No. 2 UConn undefeated in the early part of the season.
Dallas last had the No. 1 pick in 2021 and , who is now out of the league. That season, the Wings had the second pick in the draft before acquiring the top choice via trade. The franchise had participated in the lottery 11 times before winning it this year. The Wings had a 22.7% chance to win the lottery.
The Los Angeles Sparks, who had the highest chance at 44% to get the top choice, will pick second. The Sparks chose second last year also as well as fourth in the draft.
鈥淲e鈥檙e happy to have the second pick in next year鈥檚 draft,鈥� LA Sparks GM Raegan Pebley said. 鈥淗olding a lottery pick in 2025鈥檚 deep draft guarantees we鈥檒l be able to add an impactful player to our roster at a pivotal time in our history. Our staff is already hard at work exploring all our options in the lottery and with our other three picks.鈥�
The Chicago Sky will pick third. There was no way they could get the No. 1 pick because of a that allowed the Wings to swap picks with the Sky.
Washington, which last won the lottery in 1999, will pick fourth. The Mystics, who need to hire a coach and GM still, had just under an 11% chance of getting the No. 1 pick.
The Wings hire Miller as the team's new general manager earlier this month, but still need to hire a coach last month.
Los Angeles also is in need of a new head coach after the franchise let Miller go.
The will draft fifth. The league will hold an expansion draft on Dec. 6 for Golden State to choose players for its roster from the other WNBA teams.
The rest of the first round will be Washington picking sixth after acquiring the pick from Atlanta. Defending champion New York goes seventh after trading for the pick with Phoenix. Indiana and Seattle are the next two.
Chicago, after acquiring the pick from Connecticut, will also pick 10th. Minnesota and Phoenix close out the first round. The 鈥� first-round pick was rescinded due to violations of league rules.
The Indiana Fever won the lottery the past two years and and Caitlin Clark 鈥� the last two
Other top players who could be eligible to be drafted include Kiki Iriafen of USC, Olivia Miles of Notre Dame and Lauren Betts of UCLA.
The 2025 WNBA draft is scheduled for April 14.
___
AP WNBA:
Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press