Dallas has once again jumped to the front of the line, as the Wings locked down the No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 WNBA Draft, scoring the top draft selection for the second straight year at Sunday's lottery.
The Wings selected UConn star guard Paige Bueckers with last year's No. 1 pick, with the NCAA champion going on to win 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year.
"We've got an exciting young group, and we really bond together," said Dallas Wings forward and 2023's overall No. 3 draftee Maddy Siegrist. "I'm excited to bring someone else in."
In the rest of Sunday night's 2026 lottery results, the league's rich got richer, with 2025 WNBA playoff contenders the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm claiming the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, respectively, after both teams gained draft assets via trades.
The Washington Mystics will boost their already impressive young roster with the fourth draft pick in April, while the Chicago Sky snagged the fifth and final lottery spot on Sunday.
With 2026 WNBA season expanding to 15 teams, the league's two incoming expansion sides — the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — will select in the Nos. 6 and 7 spots.
As for the 2026 class, top NCAA prospects including UConn guard Azzi Fudd, UCLA center Lauren Betts, and TCU guard Olivia Miles — as well as international star Awa Fam from Spain — are likely to earn early selections in April's WNBA Draft.
Reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers is branching out, with Deadline reporting Wednesday that the Dallas Wings guard has signed on to star in an upcoming Apple Original Film.
Dubbed Jess & Pearl, the sports drama is based on an original idea by Zahir McGhee, whose resume includes writing and producing on the hit TV series Scandal.
"Set in the world of women's basketball, the film follows two phenoms who forge an extraordinary bond as teammates until fame, competition, and the ruthless business of college athletics threaten to turn their friendship into an epic rivalry," stated Deadline.
Middle Child Pictures will produce the film with White Lotus executive producer David Bernad at the helm along with Wasserman's Lindsay Kagawa Colas and Tommy Alter.
Along with stepping in front of the camera, Bueckers will also serve as an executive producer on the project.
Bueckers isn't the first WNBA player to dive into the world of cinema this year, after enterprising Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese made her own feature film debut with a cameo in Netflix's A House of Dynamite earlier this month.
The UConn alum is facing a packed offseason, with Bueckers adding her new Hollywood venture to a schedule that includes the star guard making her Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball debut in January.
Another WNBA team has reportedly landed a leader, with the Seattle Storm rumored to have tapped former New York Liberty and Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Sonia Raman as the team's newest head coach.
Building out her early head coaching career in the NCAA's Division III leading the MIT Engineers, Raman spent four seasons as an NBA assistant in Memphis before joining Sandy Brondello's Liberty staff for the 2025 WNBA season.
According to a Friday report, the Seattle Storm have offered Raman a multi-year deal, and the hiring will make her the first-ever WNBA head coach of Indian descent.
With the Dallas Wings as well as both 2026 expansion teams the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo also recently locking in their new locker room leaders, Seattle's sideline news means that only 2024 champions New York remain without a manager well into the WNBA offseason.
Reports indicate that Raman initially caught the Liberty's eye, after Brondello parted ways with the team following New York's first-round exit from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs.
Raman will replace Seattle's 2021-2025 head coach Noelle Quinn, taking over a Storm roster centered around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 2 pick and All-Rookie team honoree Dominique Malonga plus an anticipated 2026 lottery pick.
The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.
Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.
Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.
"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."
Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.
Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).
Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.
The Dallas Wings are officially making moves, with the franchise announcing Tuesday that it is parting ways with first-year head coach Chris Koclanes after the team finished the 2025 WNBA season in last place with a 10-34 record.
"As we enter a pivotal point in our team's future, we felt a change in leadership at this time was best for our organization," Dallas EVP and GM Curt Miller said in a Tuesday statement. "The Dallas Wings remain dedicated to their pursuit of WNBA Championships and building upon the strong culture established on and off the court."
Helming a Wings side that struggled with injury throughout the 2025 campaign, Koclanes cobbled together 18 different starting rosters as reserves and hardship signings led Dallas to field a WNBA-high 21 players across the season.
With Tuesday's announcement, Koclanes is now the third dismissed WNBA head coach this year, joining now-unemployed sideline leaders Noelle Quinn (Seattle Storm) and Sandy Brondello (New York Liberty) as the Wings look to build around 2025 No. 1 draft pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.
Dallas also has an eye on the future, heading into the offseason with the best odds to secure next year's No. 1 overall draft selection — their second straight top pick — after a midseason pivot saw the team offload 2025 additions NaLyssa Smith and DiJonai Carrington.
Despite finishing at the bottom of the 2025 WNBA standings, the No. 12 Chicago Sky and No. 13 Dallas Wings will not be moving on from their current head coaches according to a report from Front Office Sports this week.
Dallas sideline leader Chris Koclanes and Chicago manager Tyler Marsh led their sides to identical 10-34 records in their first year at the helm — the worst in the league this season.
In contrast, 2025 playoff participants Seattle and New York are already making aggressive coaching changes, dismissing Storm boss Noelle Quinn and Liberty leader Sandy Brondello following first-round postseason exits.
While some fans criticized the presumed decision, Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings stars spoke out in support of their head coaches.
"Obviously the season didn't go how we expected, but being able to have a coach like Tyler, it was amazing through the ups and downs," Chicago center Kamilla Cardoso told reporters. "He always showed up every day with the same energy, no matter what the record was."
"The team embodies the attitude of your leader," echoed Dallas guard Paige Bueckers. "And for [Koclanes] to show up every single day at work and pour into all of us…it means a lot to us as a team."
Paige Bueckers is the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced early Tuesday, as the Dallas Wings guard becomes the fifth consecutive No. 1 draft pick to win the award.
Bueckers is the first Wings player to earn the honor since Allisha Gray in 2017, finishing the 2025 season averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game and shooting 47.4% from the field.
The 23-year-old was the only player this season to finish in the Top 10 league-wide in points, assists, and steals per game — all while becoming the fastest rookie in WNBA history to notch 500 points and 100 assists.
While the conversation around the Class of 2025 included several high performers, the Rookie of the Year vote proved to be near unanimous, with Bueckers receiving 70 of the sports media panel's 72 votes.
The remaining two votes went to Washington Mystics rookie Sonia Citron.
While the race tightened as Citron heated up mid-season, Bueckers's August 20th rookie-record 44-point performance against the LA Sparks likely shut the door to any challengers.
"I know that we continue to do things the right way, we continue to believe in each other, continue to invest our whole lives into this basketball thing, the results will come," Bueckers told reporters after Dallas ended the season with a 10-34 record — securing the highest odds for next year's No. 1 draft pick.
With the regular season all wrapped up, the WNBA Rookie of the Year race is coming down to the wire as the best of the league's Class of 2025 — Paige Bueckers and Sonia Citron — steps into the spotlight.
Dallas Wings guard and 2025 No. 1 draft pick Bueckers leads her class in points per game, with her 19.2 average ranking fifth league-wide.
Bueckers is also responsible for the WNBA's only 40+ point performance this season, tallying a rookie-record 44 points against the LA Sparks last month.
Despite her dominance, Bueckers is not without peer competition, with Washington Mystics guard Citron giving the former UConn standout a run for her money this year.
Citron is one of just three first-years — including Bueckers — to score at least 650 points with a true shooting percentage above 55%, with the Notre Dame alum also breaking rookie team records in both points and three-pointers.
"I wouldn't say there's an award or milestone I'm most proud of," Citron said last week. "I'm just proud of the team, the program, and how we've continued to fight and just grow together."
Bueckers's grip on the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year title is likely undeniable, but the rest of the cohort's proven ability to push the young star only bodes well for the future of the class — and the league.
The No. 6 Golden State Valkyries made WNBA history this week, becoming the first-ever expansion team to clinch a playoffs berth in their debut year with Thursday's 84-80 win over the already-eliminated No. 13 Dallas Wings.
The Valkyries overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to top the Wings, with forward Janelle Salaün scoring nine of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to seal to deal.
"This is awesome," said guard Veronica Burton, who added 15 points to Thursday's victory. "It's a testament to all the work that we put in…to the belief that our coaching staff had in us."
"I told the girls, I intentionally picked you guys for this reason, to do things for the first [time]," Golden State boss Natalie Nakase said afterwards.
In addition to their newly claimed postseason history, Golden State set the WNBA record for most wins by an expansion team with 23 on the season so far, while also leading the league in three-pointers as well as attendance marks — all under first-year head coach Nakase.
"What's kind of cool is we like to be uncomfortable," continued Nakase. "I have 13 players that love to be pushed."
Golden State will literally be out of their comfort zone during the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, with the Valkyries forced to relocate their first-round home game from San Francisco's Chase Center to the SAP Center in nearby San Jose due to a pre-existing scheduling conflict.
"While we would have loved to host our first playoff game at Chase Center and sought every opportunity to try and make that happen, Ballhalla has never been about just one building — it's about the incredible community our fans have created," said team president Jess Smith in a statement.
The 2025 season is nearly over for the No. 13 Dallas Wings, but they're banking on the future as the struggling WNBA team locked in the best odds to grab the 2026 overall No. 1 draft pick earlier this week.
After Monday's loss to the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Dallas — who drafted UConn superstar Paige Bueckers No. 1 overall at the 2025 WNBA Draft — now have a 40% chance of winning first dibs via the 2026 lottery, as well as a near-30% shot at snagging the No. 2 or No. 3 pick.
In an attempt to deter single-season tanking, the lottery uses combined two-year records to determine which team has a shot at a high draft pick.
This year's trades will complicate next season's lottery order, with No. 12 Chicago's natural first-round pick belonging to top-seed Minnesota, while the early selection owned by the No. 11 Connecticut Sun — heavily weighted due to the team's 2024 success — will likely go to Chicago by way of a pick swap involving the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.
Even more, as the league expands, so must the lottery: The 2026 edition will feature the first five-team lineup in WNBA history, with next season's incoming franchises — the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — projected to claim picks No. 5 and No. 6.
As for Dallas, after successfully transitioning Bueckers to the pros, the Wings are going all in on NCAA talent as next year’s projected top picks prep for their final college tour.
Leading the 2026 WNBA Draft class is UCLA center Lauren Betts, followed closely by Bueckers's former UConn teammate (and current girlfriend) Azzi Fudd as well as offseason TCU transfer Olivia Miles.
Every lottery is a gamble by definition, but back-to-back losing records in Dallas could spell a silver lining in 2026.