As Washington Wizards fans, we will be thinking more about the NBA Draft and the lottery than games at times. When the Wizards are on track to tie (and break) a franchise record losing streak, I can’t
exactly blame ourselves for that. And with the Mystics likely using the same strategy as the Wizards for the foreseeable future, yesterday’s WNBA Draft Lottery got me thinking.
Yesterday, the WNBA had its draft lottery with the Washington Mystics getting the No. 4 pick. The Mystics had the fourth-best chance of getting the top pick, so ending up with the No. 4 pick wasn’t a surprise.
Now here is the surprise. The Connecticut Sun had the league’s worst record in 2025 but they made the 2024 WNBA semifinals. Because the WNBA Draft Lottery takes into account a team’s record over the last TWO years instead of the last ONE year, the Sun had a 39-45 record over two seasons and also the lowest chance of getting the top pick. The Dallas Wings received the top pick for the 2026 Draft and had the league’s worst two-year record with a combined 19-65. They had the highest chance of getting the top pick anyway and came out ahead.
Why does the WNBA take into account a team’s two-year record instead of one year? It was indirectly in response to the way the 2013 WNBA Draft lottery results came about. The Mystics had the worst record in the 2012 season with a 5-29 record and a near lock to get one of the Big Three franchise player-level talents for 2013: Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne or Skylar Diggins. Washington ended up with the No. 4 pick, which they used to draft Tayler Hill. The Phoenix Mercury won the lottery that year and were tanking despite their franchise player, Diana Taurasi, playing in the Olympics but playing very sparingly for Phoenix that season. The Chicago Sky took Delle Donne and the team now known as the Dallas Wings took Diggins.
The move set the Mystics back. And while their rebuild resulted in a 2019 championship, they had to make the most out of low draft picks and make savvy trades like trading for Delle Donne in 2017. Finally, that championship roster was also unsustainable in the long run because the Las Vegas Aces dynasty wasn’t at peak form yet, and other superstars suffered season-ending injuries around the time the Mystics were at their best.
At any rate, the team with the highest odds of winning the draft lottery cannot fall lower than No. 3, something Washington couldn’t take advantage of in the 2013 lottery.
As you all know, the Mystics aren’t the only team for Monumental Basketball. The Washington Wizards are also in the club and are rebuilding through the draft. They are in their worst two-year stretch in franchise history based on wins and losses. But the NBA Draft Lottery rules only take into account the record of the previous season, not the previous two like the WNBA.
So I just wanted to ask you all that question. Do you think the NBA Draft Lottery should be modified to take into account a non-playoff team’s two-year cumulative record instead of one? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
