Key events
Rookies are in for big salary bumps
Last year, No 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers got a $78,831 salary as a rookie. Tonight, the top pick will get a $500,000 salary.
That bump is thanks to the salary increases in the new collective bargaining agreement. The new CBA includes specific salary tiers for each of the top eight picks – for example, the No 2 pick will earn a base salary of $466,913. Second- and third-round picks who sign contracts with teams will earn the new league minimum of $270,000. That’s up from $69.3k for second-rounders and $66k for third-rounders last year.
How does the WNBA draft work?
The draft has three rounds with 15 picks each. The order of the top five overall picks were determined by a lottery system. Picks No 6 and No 7 go to the two new expansion teams. The rest of the picks in each round are ordered from worst to best records.
More from the orange carpet:
Potential No 1 pick Azzi Fudd talked to ESPN with cheers from several of her UConn teammates in the background.
“It’s my moment to be excited, but I am here because of everyone who poured into me. It’s my moment, but it’s our moment.”
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Five members of UCLA’s championship-winning team are in New York for the draft: Lauren Betts (the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player), Angela Dugalić, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens and Kiki Rice.
The Bruins could very well have four players drafted in the first round. If they do, it would be the first time a school had four first-rounders since UConn’s Fab Four of Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams in 2002.
The draftees have hit the orange carpet. Azzi Fudd is in a custom Coach sequined gray gown. Flau’jae Johnson told reporters she wanted to look like “the draft was at 6 and the Met Gala was at 6.30”.
Fudd is the favorite for No 1 pick, but it’s a tight race
For the past three years, the No 1 pick has been a foregone conclusion entering draft night. In 2022, it was South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston. In 2024, it was Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. Last year, it was UConn’s Paige Bueckers. This year is less certain.
Azzi Fudd, Olivia Miles, Awa Fam and Lauren Betts have all been speculated as No 1 pick options. As of Monday morning, Fudd was atop mock drafts by Bleacher Report, USA Today, CBS Sports and ESPN. The Athletic went with Miles.
The sportsbooks have Fudd as the frontrunner to be the top pick, followed by Fam, Betts and Miles.
Full WNBA draft order
First round
Dallas Wings
Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago Sky)
Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles Sparks)
Washington Mystics
Chicago Sky (from Connecticut Sun)
Toronto Tempo
Portland Fire
Golden State Valkyries
Washington Mystics (from Seattle Storm)
Indiana Fever
Washington Mystics (from New York Liberty)
Connecticut Sun (from Phoenix Mercury)
Atlanta Dream
Seattle Storm (from Las Vegas Aces)
Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota Lynx)
Second round
Seattle Storm (from Dallas Wings)
Portland Fire (from Chicago Sky)
Connecticut Sun
Washington Mystics
Los Angeles Sparks
Chicago Sky (from Portland Fire)
Toronto Tempo
Golden State Valkyries
Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle Storm)
Indiana Fever
Toronto Tempo (from New York Liberty)
Phoenix Mercury
Atlanta Dream
Las Vegas Aces
Washington Mystics (from Minnesota Lynx)
Third round
Dallas Wings
Chicago Sky
Connecticut Sun
Washington Mystics
Los Angeles Sparks
Toronto Tempo
Portland Fire
Golden State Valkyries
Seattle Storm
Indiana Fever
New York Liberty
Phoenix Mercury
Atlanta Dream
Las Vegas Aces
Minnesota Lynx
Bryan Armen Graham, Andrew Lawrence, Stephanie Kaloi and I made our predictions for how we think tonight will go. Who will go No 1? Who are some late-round sleepers? Which international players should you know?
Hello from New York! We’re an hour from the start of this year’s WNBA draft.
We come to you in the middle of a very packed offseason. Less than a month ago, the WNBA and its players agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement after more than a year of tense negotiations. Since then, the offseason has been a full-on sprint. The expansion draft for the league’s two new teams in Toronto and Portland took place on 3 April; March Madness wrapped up with UCLA’s win over South Carolina on 5 April; the free agency period officially opened last Monday; and now it’s draft time.
The biggest rising stars in the women’s game are here at the Shed at Hudson Yards. We’ve got the four main contenders to be the No 1 pick – UConn’s Azzi Fudd, TCU’s Olivia Miles, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Spanish phenom Awa Fam. LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, South Carolina’s Raven Johnson and Mississippi’s Cotie McMahon are also among the 15 players in attendance.
The draft begins at 7pm Eastern time. The players have already hit the orange carpet. (Photos to come!)
If you have any questions, predictions, thoughts, etc, send an email my way.
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