On Saturday, Eric Nemchock offered his way-too-early look at the 2027 WNBA Draft prospects likely to be selected in the lottery.
For fans of teams eliminated from the playoffs, however, it might not be too early to focus on future, imagining which player from a what looks to be a promising class of prospects could be the best fit for their favorite team.
A way-too-early look at the top seven 2027 WNBA Draft prospects
Swish Appeal draft expert Eric Nemchock kicks off draft season with an initial overview of the college basketball stars who could hear their names
called at the top of the 2027 WNBA Draft.
On Sunday, two of those teams—the Seattle Storm and Toronto Tempo—are in action, while the Portland Fire, not yet eliminated but 5.5 games out of the No. 8 seed with eight games to go, also take the court. The Storm will be playing the Dallas Wings (4 p.m. ET, NBA TV), while the Fire host the Washington Mystics (7 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass). The Tempo are again in Vancouver, welcoming the Las Vegas Aces (7 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass).
The Chicago Sky, unless this three-game winning streak turns into something really special thanks to more Sydney Taylor magic, likely are lottery-bound, as well. They’ll be looking for a fourth-straight win over the visiting Indiana Fever (7 p.m. ET, NBC). Of course, regardless of how their season unfolds, their pick (infamously) belongs to the Mystics. As postseason business is the top priority in DC, we’ll exclude them from this conversation for now, instead analyzing the best prospect fits for the Storm, Fire and Tempo.
Join in on the WNBA Draft matchmaking in the comments, letting us know what team-prospect pairings you see as most intriguing or exciting for the Storm, Fire and Tempo, as well as for the other own-their-own-pick lottery entrants in the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks.
Hannah Hidalgo would add more dynamsim to Seattle’s future forecast
By almost all accounts, Natisha Hiedeman has had a better than expected individual season as the Storm’s starting point guard. However, serving as the primary offensive initiator is not the ideal role for a player better suited to be off-the-bench bucket getter. Offensive creation for others is also a weakness of Flau’jae Johnson.
Enter Hannah Hidalgo. She is a perfect storm of two-way terror, thus making her a perfect Storm.
Early in the season, Seattle showed some promise defensively, although things have slipped on that end over the course of the season. Now, imagine Hidalgo heating up the ball on every possession in front of a versatile, mobile and rim-protecting backline of Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam, with Johnson patrolling passing lines. When Hidalgo picks pockets at the point of attack? Get ready for a Dom dunk on the other end!
Hidalgo would also inject extra verve into a Storm offense that ranks as the second-worst in the WNBA. As Eric emphasized, it’s astounding how much energy Hidalgo has to give on both ends of the floor. Despite her relentless on defense, she still can muster the might required pierce the paint on demand in the offensive halfcourt, finishing with accuracy inside the arc, even at her size. And although Hidalgo has been a high-volume scorer at Notre Dame, she’s also a willing passer, adept at finding her teammates when she attracts multiple defenders. If she rediscovers her 3-pointer, Hidalgo would even further elevate the Storm’s halfcourt attack.
As has been the case for this year’s Storm, the potential would still outpace the reality for a Storm sqaud with Hidalgo in 2027. But with Hannah, the Storm would be much closer to fully converting all that potential into their reality.
JuJu Watkins would ignite a future that burns bright in Portland
Yes, JuJu Watkins is the best for every team. But, what team is the best fit for Watkins?
I think Portland is the clear, albeit most unlikely, answer. Still, we’ll engage in the fantasy scenario where the Fire improbably jump to No. 1 in lottery. (It took me 29 spins on Tankathon to get the No. 1 pick outcome for Portland.)
Watkins’ more ball-dominant offensive stylings may seem antithetical the Fire’s egalitarian leanings, but, as Eric indicated when he invoked the names of Maya Moore and Sheryl Swoopes, JuJu is the type of talent who trumps any stylistic preferences. And Watkins could really go to work in the well-spaced offensive floor prioritized by Fire head coach Alex Sarama.
The Fire are second in the league in 3-point attempts per game, making almost 35 percent as a team. Bridget Carleton, Megan DiLeo and Sarah Ashlee Barker (prior to her season-ending injury) have shot better than 37 percent from 3 on at least 3.5 attempts per game. All that shooting would open the floor for Watkins in ways that other teams, especially those with traditional bigs, cannot. Think about how 5-foot-9 Carla Leite, herself an improved 3-point shooter, gets to the rim for Portland. Now sub in Watkins, who is 6-foot-2 with outlier athletic gifts.
Sarama, renowned for his deep bag of basketball innovations, surely would be able to cook up more schemes that optimized everything JuJu has to offer. Watkins’ defensive playmaking prowess, something Eric also made sure to underscore, would be maximized in a Portland defensive system that has encouraged aggression.
Again, Watkins ending up in the Rose City is unlikely, and visions of her donning purple and gold and saving her hometown Sparks will likely dominate the pre-lottery conversation. But a Portland organization with a plan, rather than a LA franchise lost in the WNBA wilderness, seems better equipped to help JuJu fulfill her potential.
Clara Stack could be the big that accelerates Toronto’s ambitions
If they’re blessed with a top-pick, the Tempo are going to take—or they better take—the best player available, regardless of fit.
However, for a team with a clear need for upgrades in the frontcourt, this projects to be a tricky lottery, as many of the most-valued talents are players more likely to thrive with the ball in their hands. Toronto is already going to have to navigate a guard rotation of Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes and Kiki Rice. How would that trio accommodate Watkins or Hidalgo, or even Madison Booker or Mikaylah Williams?
For this exercise, let’s imagine Toronto decides they must go with a big. In that case, is Clara Strack the clear choice?
As Eric articulated, Strack brings the non-negotiable defensive traits—rim protection and rebounding with good mobility—that today’s WNBA teams must get from their bigs, and that Toronto has severely lacked. It’s on the other end where Strack can prove herself worthy of high-lottery consideration, with Eric citing her nascent 3-point shooting, thus far uneven but increasing, as the skill that can enhance her perceived upside. On a team with downhill drivers like Sykes and Rice, a Strack who is a credible shooting threat would further juice a Toronto offensive that, when fully-stocked, has been electric.
If Strack’s 3 doesn’t inspire enough confidence, might one of South Carolina’s returning bigs emerge as an intriguing option?
Both Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins sat out the 2025-26 season but are slated to be back for another stacked Gamecock squad. Neither has the size of Strack, but Watkins, in particular, is an elite athlete who could be the foundational piece for the Tempo defense.
