The 2026 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft was arguably the biggest one yet all because of two things: star talent and history being made because of the salaries that these rookies will earn. On April 13, 2026, the 30th annual WNBA draft took place in New York City. The WNBA draft is when college basketball players accomplish their dream of being drafted to a WNBA team. The draft helps teams improve and grow with the end goal of winning the WNBA Championship at the end of the season. The 2026 draft left teams with star players that could change the whole dynamic of their team: here’s what went down.
Throughout the college basketball season, WNBA teams carefully watch players as well as interview them to find if they are the right fit for their team. The draft consists of 3 rounds with 12 picks in each round. The order of the draft is determined by the draft lottery, which is held 6 months before the draft, as well as the standings from the previous WNBA season. Draft picks can be traded amongst teams, which means the order of the draft often changes. The final order is confirmed 24 hours before the draft, and at that time, no teams can change their order.
On draft night, excitement was in the air. On this day, players finally reach what they have dreamed about all their lives: becoming a WNBA player. During the draft lottery in November 2025, the Dallas Wings won the first pick in the draft. With the first pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the Dallas Wings selected Azzi Fudd. Fudd played her college basketball career at the University of Connecticut and will reunite with long time teammate Paige Bueckers. There was a bit of controversy with Fudd going number 1 in the draft. Awa Fam Thiam, a center from Spain, was projected to go first in recent mock drafts, and those same mock drafts had Fudd going third. Fam Thiam ended up going third in the draft, proving that maybe the Wings were right to pick Fudd, with the Minnesota Lynx, the team with the second pick, picking Olivia Miles over Fam Thiam.
The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) won the Women’s Basketball National Championship just last month, and 5 out of 6 of their seniors were drafted in the first round of the draft. Lauren Betts was UCLA’s star forward and was drafted 4th overall to the Washington Mystics. Betts will join Sonia Citron who was drafted 3rd overall by the Mystics last year.
Flau’jae Johnson was drafted 8th overall to the Golden State Valkyries but something interesting happened after that. Less than an hour after the Valkyries picked up Johnson, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert made an announcement that there had been a trade. The Valkyries made a trade with the Seattle Storm, moving Johnson to Seattle and leaving the Valkyries with 6-foot-3 forward Marta Suarez. The most interesting part about this trade though was what ESPN shared the next day. The Valkyries general manager shared with ESPN that they made a deal with the Storm before anyone even drafted any players.
Another factor that makes this draft so special is the salaries. The WNBA reached a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in March skyrocketing salaries for players. This also affects rookies coming into the league with the 1st draft pick set to have a salary of 500,000 dollars. Last year the 1st draft pick made a salary of 78,000 dollars. This deal has been a tremendous achievement for women’s basketball as well as all women sports in general.
After the draft, some teams came out on top while others did not. The Washington Mystics arguably benefited the most out of all the teams by receiving 6 exceptional players, 3 of them from the 1st round. The Mystics fired their general manager just 7 days before the draft, which appeared as a risky decision as it left their head coach and the rest of the coaching staff to make draft decisions, but it ended up going well. The New York Liberty only received one draft pick and it was late in the third round. They didn’t do great in the draft, but they have a strong roster this year with Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu renewing their contracts as well as Satou Satally getting traded to New York from Phoenix.
This year’s WNBA draft collected 1.8 million viewers, falling second place to the 2024 WNBA draft that collected 2.4 million viewers featuring draftees Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. There is a bunch of excitement surrounding the upcoming WNBA season, especially with the league debuting two new teams. The Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo expanded the WNBA to 15 teams with Toronto becoming the first WNBA team outside of the United States. The Tempo, owned partially by Serena Williams, received the 6th pick in the draft and the Fire received the 7th pick. Tune in this season (opening day was on May 8th) to see how these spectacular players do in their rookie season!
