The 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery will take place on Sunday, November 15, as announced by the league on Wednesday. The event will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN following the UConn versus Louisville women’s basketball game, revealing which franchise secures the top selection.
Lottery Odds and Team Standings
The league announced the official odds for the new seven-team lottery, which is headlined by the newly relocated Houston Comets (formerly the Connecticut Sun) and the expansion Toronto Tempo. Both teams share the best odds for the No. 1 overall pick.
WNBA lottery odds are determined by two-season aggregate records, though expansion franchises like the Tempo and the Portland Fire are evaluated solely on their 2026 performance. The Comets posted a 22-66 record across the past two seasons, while the Tempo finished 11-33 in their inaugural campaign.
Because both the Comets and the Tempo finished with identical 11-33 records and matching .250 winning percentages, the league combined their lottery combinations and split them evenly. An even number of total combinations allowed for identical odds, avoiding a tiebreaker that would have otherwise awarded extra combinations to the Comets based on last season’s head-to-head results.
The lottery field also features the Chicago Sky, Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury, and Los Angeles Sparks. However, due to previous trades, the participating lottery teams differ from those drafting; the Sky owe a first-round pick swap to the Washington Mystics, while the Mercury traded their first-round selection to the Sparks, giving Los Angeles two lottery picks. Official lottery odds remain tied to the team that originally held the selection.
The complete lottery odds feature the Comets and Tempo tied with a 32.9% chance, followed by the Sky at 16.1% (owing their pick to the Mystics), the Storm at 9.3%, the Fire at 5.2%, the Sparks at 2.4%, and the Mercury at 1.2% (owed to the Sparks).
How the Lottery Works
The league outlines a specific drawing process utilizing 14 balls numbered 1 through 14 placed inside a lottery machine. Four balls are drawn to establish a four-digit combination, assigning the No. 1 pick to the corresponding team. The balls are then returned to the machine, and the process repeats to determine the second pick.
For the five remaining lottery teams not selected in the initial drawings, draft order is determined by cumulative winning percentages, with the team holding the worst record picking third, followed sequentially by the remaining teams in order of their records.
An independent representative from accounting firm Ernst & Young will oversee the entire lottery procedure. Because Houston went 1-2 against Toronto during the 2026 regular season, losing the first tiebreaker, the Comets cannot fall lower than the third pick, while the Tempo are guaranteed at least the fourth selection.
Top WNBA Prospects to Watch
USC standout JuJu Watkins stands out as the marquee player for the upcoming NCAA season. The 6-foot-2 versatile wing returns after missing all of last year with a torn ACL and remains the leading favorite to go No. 1 overall in 2027, provided she declares for the draft. Having utilized a medical redshirt last season, she maintains eligibility to return to school for a fifth year in 2027-28.
Other standout prospects in the class include Texas forward Madison Booker and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo, both projected as early selections. Additional lottery candidates feature Kansas guard S’Mya Nichols, LSU guards Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley, and Kentucky center Clara Strack.
International talent also features prominently in the opening round projections, highlighted by French teenagers Sarah Cissé—the MVP of the 2026 U20 EuroBasket Women—and Aïnhoa Risacher, the younger sister of former NBA top pick Zaccharie Risacher.
