For serial winner Paige Bueckers, losing 25 of the 33 games she has played as a WNBA rookie must be a strange feeling.
But better things are likely on the way in Dallas, despite the Wings' struggles throughout 2024 and 2025.
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The Wings lost to the league-best Minnesota Lynx on Monday, the 96-71 defeat dropping Dallas to 9-32 on the season -- and 18-63 since the start of 2024. After securing the top pick -- and the right to pick Bueckers -- in the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Wings have the best odds to select first when the 2026 draft rolls around.
The loss to the Lynx confirmed that the Wings will have the top odds to win the first overall pick at the 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery, owing to Dallas' two-year winning percentage of 22.2 percent. The Wings have a 40 percent chance to clinch the #1 pick for the second year running -- and a rare opportunity to pair Bueckers with another NCAA phenom.
With the loss tonight the Dallas Wings have officially clinched the best odds to win the number 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
— Take Flight (@takeflightwnba) September 2, 2025
The Wings currently have a 40% chance at the number 1 pick. pic.twitter.com/YenLCzISKv
Next spring, the Wings could be in position to land UCLA center Lauren Betts at first overall. Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles and Connecticut guard Azzi Fudd -- Bueckers' partner -- also will be in the top pic conversation, as Dallas' rebuild under general manager Curt Miller gets another fascinating wrinkle.
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