WNBA Draft Lottery 2021 presented by State Farm® will be conducted on Friday, Dec. 4, the WNBA announced today.
ESPN will televise the WNBA Draft Lottery during halftime of its telecast of the DePaul vs. Louisville women’s college basketball game, which will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET. WNBA Head of League Operations Bethany Donaphin will reveal the results of the Lottery during ESPN’s coverage, which will be hosted by LaChina Robinson. ESPN networks will present the Lottery for the ninth consecutive year.
The New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever have qualified for the 20th annual WNBA Draft Lottery. The winner will secure the top pick in WNBA Draft 2021 presented by State Farm®, which will be held next April.
Lottery odds are based on the cumulative records of the two most recent regular seasons (2019 and 2020). With a cumulative record of 12-44, the Liberty will have the most chances to land the top pick (442 out of 1,000) and are guaranteed at least the third pick. New York won the Lottery in advance of the 2020 WNBA Draft and used the top pick to select Sabrina Ionescu in April 2020.
Atlanta, which posted a combined record of 15-41, will have 276 chances out of 1,000 to win the top pick. Dallas, which registered a two-year record of 18-38, has the third-most chances (178). Indiana has 104 chances by virtue of its 19-37 record over the past two regular seasons.
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. The team with the lowest cumulative two-year record whose numerical combinations do not come up in the first two four-ball combinations will select third and the remaining team would select fourth.
The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third rounds is determined by inverse order of the teams’ respective regular-season records solely from 2020.
A representative from the accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance to oversee the Lottery process.
Below are the number of chances for teams to land the top pick in WNBA Draft Lottery 2021 presented by State Farm®.
New York (12-44 in 2019): 42/1000
Atlanta (15-41 in 2019): 276/1000
Dallas (18-38 in 2019): 178/1000
Indiana (19-37 in 2019): 104/1000
Leave a Reply