By Dorothy J. Gentry
Sports Editor
Two months after missing the playoffs, one month after firing it’s head coach and two weeks after naming it’s new General Manager, the Dallas Wings got more franchise-altering news on Sunday afternoon.
The Wings won the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery announced Sunday on ESPN, and will have the first overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm to be held on Monday, April 14, 2025.
The No. 1 pick is widely expected to be UConn star Paige Bueckers. The Los Angeles Sparks will select second, followed by the Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics.
The Wings, who went to the WNBA semi-finals only a year ago, missed the playoffs this year after an injury-plagued season that landed them with a 9-31 record.
“We know what No. 1 draft picks have done to franchises and in recent years how they’ve changed the trajectory of teams,” said new Wings GM Curt Miller, who held a zoom call with reports shortly after the lottery was held. “I am so super excited to earn the No. 1 pick in 2025 draft.”
“You can just see the talent continue to rise in the game, getting better and better,” Miller said of the group of prospects.
Miller said the No. 1 pick will have “an opportunity to immediately be a part of a very important group. I can’t begin to tell you how much this just injects energy, enthusiasm as we head into the ;25 season, and with other great news about Dallas with two facilities coming on board here soon,” Miller said. “What a great time to be a Wing.”
The Wings had a combined 45.4% chance of earning the top pick, including both their odds and those of the Sky, as Dallas had the rights to swap first-round picks with Chicago. The odds were based on the two-year cumulative records for the four teams that missed the 2024 postseason. The Sparks’ probability to win the lottery was 44.2% and the Mystics’ 10.4%.
