Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics
to Take Part in WNBA Draft Lottery 2025 presented by State Farm® –
– Expansion Team Golden State Valkyries to Select Fifth in Each Round of
WNBA Draft 2025 presented by State Farm® –
ESPN will air the 30-minute, WNBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm special at 5 p.m. ET, following its presentation of the TCU vs. North Carolina State women’s basketball game. WNBA Head of League Operations Bethany Donaphin will reveal the results of the Lottery during ESPN’s coverage. This marks the 13th consecutive year that ESPN networks will present the WNBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm®.
The Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics will take part in the 24th annual WNBA Draft Lottery. The WNBA Draft 2025 presented by State Farm is currently scheduled to take place on Monday, April 14, 2025. In addition, the league announced today that the expansion team Golden State Valkyries, set to begin play in 2025, will have the fifth selection in each of the three rounds of the WNBA Draft 2025 presented by State Farm. Golden State will begin assembling the team’s inaugural roster when the league conducts the Golden State Expansion Draft on Friday, December 6, on ESPN.
Lottery odds are based on the two-year (2023 and 2024) cumulative records of the four teams that did not make the playoffs in the most recent season. With a cumulative record of 25-55, the Sparks will have the most assigned combinations (442 out of 1,000) and are guaranteed at least the third pick.
Dallas and Chicago, each of whom posted a combined record of 31-49 over the past two seasons, will each have 227 chances out of 1,000. Additionally, as a result of a February 2023 trade, Dallas has the right to swap first round picks with Chicago, which it will exercise if Chicago’s first round pick is above Dallas’ first round pick after the drawing.
Washington, 33-47 over the past two seasons, has 108 chances out of 1,000 to win the top pick.
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 – with the exception of Golden State owning the fifth pick in each round – is determined by inverse order of the teams’ respective regular-season records solely from 2024.
A representative from the league’s independent accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance to oversee the Draft Lottery process.
