Indiana Fever win WNBA draft lottery, Minnesota to pick 2nd

Updated Nov. 11, 2022 6:09 p.m. ET

Associated Press

The Indiana Fever earned the first pick in the WNBA draft for the first time in franchise history on Friday.

The Fever had a 44% chance to get the No. 1 pick after having the worst combined record the past two seasons. The Minnesota Lynx will pick second with the Atlanta Dream having the third pick and the Washington Mystics the fourth. The Lynx had the lowest chance to get the No. 1 pick, but moved up two spots in the draft lottery.

"This is a very strong draft. We will get a great player picking at No. 1,” Interim General Manager Lin Dunn said.

South Carolina's star Aliyah Boston is expected to be the top pick in the draft. With seniors still having the option of coming back for a fifth season because of the coronavirus pandemic, there's no guarantee they will make themselves eligible for April's draft.

It's been a busy offseason for the Fever, who had the the No. 2 pick last season and chose NaLyssa Smith. Indiana, which hasn't made the postseason since Tamika Catchings retired in 2016, hired Christie Sides as its new coach last week.

“The talent that is here, this young talent, and they’re going to keep growing,” Sides said at an introductory press conference hours before the lottery. “They’re going to have some structure. We’re going to coach their butts off and just to see the potential with the group of people that are here, but also what’s being built around here, is amazing. That’s just going to draw so many people that are going to want to come to Indiana.”

The rest of the first round will be Chicago, New York, Indiana, Atlanta, Seattle Connecticut, Dallas and Minnesota.

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