Fever Snag First Overall Pick for First Time in Franchise History

Author:
Jelani Scott
Publish date:
Nov 11, 2022

In this story:

The Fever secured the rights to the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 WNBA draft Friday night after winning the draft lottery for the first time in franchise history.

Indiana entered the evening with the top odds at securing the No. 1 pick (44.2%) after posting a 11–57 record over the past two seasons.

The Lynx, the owners of the fourth-best odds at the No. 1 pick with a 10.4% chance, will select second overall followed by the Dream (27.6%) and Mystics (17.8%).

After missing out on the draft’s top prize twice since 2019, the third time proved to be the charm for the Fever in ’22 as they look to add another top prospect and continue rebuilding under new coach Christie Sides.

Earlier this year, Indiana had a league-record four first-round picks in NaLyssa Smith (No. 2) Emily Engstler (No. 4), Lexie Hull (No. 6) and Queen Egbo (No. 10). The club missed the playoffs for a sixth straight season after finishing the year 5–31.

As teams continue to evaluate prospects ahead of next April’s draft, South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, who kicked off her senior season immediately following the lottery, and Stanford’s Haley Jones figure to emerge as the consensus top two selections following their impressive collegiate careers.

Widely-regarded as the favorite to go first, Boston enters the fall as the reigning National Player of the Year with a great shot at repeating after guiding the Gamecocks to Dawn Staley’s second NCAA title and winning Most Outstanding Player last season. Meanwhile, Jones, a 2021 NCAA champion and that year’s MOP, will look to cap her standout run by leading Stanford to its third straight Final Four.

The order of the remaining first-round selections and the next two rounds of the draft will be determined by the inverse order of teams’ regular season records in 2022.

Check below for the entire list of first-round selections, as of Nov. 11:

1. Indiana Fever

2. Minnesota Lynx

3. Atlanta Dream

4. Washington Mystics (via Los Angeles)

5. Chicago Sky (via Phoenix)

6. New York Liberty

7. Indiana Fever (via Dallas)

8. Atlanta Dream (via Washington)

9. Seattle Storm

10. Connecticut Sun

11. Dallas Wings (via Chicago)