2027 WNBA Draft Lottery odds: Who has the best chance at the No. 1 pick?

The 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery will take place on Sunday, Nov. 15, the league announced Wednesday, and will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN after the UConn vs. Louisville women's basketball game. With that announcement, the WNBA revealed the official odds for the new seven-team lottery, headlined by the new edition of the Houston Comets (formerly Connecticut Sun) and the Toronto Tempo, who will split the best odds for the No. 1 overall pick. 

The WNBA uses two-season aggregate records to determine lottery odds, but for the two expansion teams, the Tempo and Portland Fire, only their 2026 record will be considered. The Comets (as the Sun) went 22-66 over the last two seasons, while the Tempo were 11-33 in their inaugural campaign. 

Because the two teams went 11-33 and had identical .250 winning percentages, the league combined each team's lottery combinations and divided them evenly. There was an even number of combinations, which means the teams will have identical odds for the No. 1 overall pick. If there had been an odd number of combinations, the Comets would have received the extra combination by virtue of losing the tiebreaker last season. 

In addition to the Comets and Tempo, this year's lottery crew includes the Chicago Sky, Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks. However, those will not be the seven teams drafting in the lottery. The Sky owe the Washington Mystics a first-round pick swap, while the Mercury traded their first-round pick to the Sparks, who will have two lottery selections as a result. 

It is important to note, however, that lottery odds are based on the team that originally owned the pick. 

2027 WNBA Draft Lottery odds

Comets

22-66 (.250)

32.9%

Tempo

11-33 (.250)*

32.9%

Sky (owe to Mystics)

26-62 (.295)

16.1%

Storm

31-57 (.352)

9.3%

Fire

17-27 (.386)*

5.2%

Sparks

37-51 (.420)

2.4%

Mercury (owe to Sparks)

43-45 (.489)

1.2%

How does the lottery work?

Here's how the lottery process works, via the league:

In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in a lottery machine and mixed.  Four balls will be drawn to determine a four-digit combination.  The team assigned that four-ball combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The four balls will then be placed back into the machine and the process will be repeated to determine the second pick.  

Of the five Lottery teams not selected in the drawings, the team with the worst cumulative winning percentage shall select third; the team with the next worst records will, in order, select fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh.

A representative from the league's independent accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance to oversee the Draft Lottery process.

In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in a lottery machine and mixed.  Four balls will be drawn to determine a four-digit combination.  The team assigned that four-ball combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The four balls will then be placed back into the machine and the process will be repeated to determine the second pick.  

Of the five Lottery teams not selected in the drawings, the team with the worst cumulative winning percentage shall select third; the team with the next worst records will, in order, select fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh.

A representative from the league's independent accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance to oversee the Draft Lottery process.

Houston was 1-2 against Toronto in the 2026 regular season (the first tiebreaker) and, therefore, cannot fall further than the third pick. Toronto is guaranteed at least the fourth pick.

Top WNBA prospects to watch

USC star JuJu Watkins is the player to know in the upcoming NCAA season. The 6-foot-2, do-it-all wing will make her return after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. And despite her injury, she is the clear favorite to be selected No. 1 overall in the 2027 WNBA Draft. Of course, that assumes that she declares. Because she took a medical redshirt last season, she's eligible to return to school for a fifth year in 2027-28. 

Watkins is not the only talented prospect in next year's class. Texas forward Madison Booker and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo also stand out and are likely top picks. Kansas guard S'Mya Nichols, LSU guards Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley and Kentucky center Clara Strack are other lottery candidates to keep an eye on. 

On the international scene, French teenagers Sarah Cissé, the 2026 U20 EuroBasket Women MVP, and Aïnhoa Risacher, the younger sister of former NBA No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, are potential first-round picks. 

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