Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Kamilla Cardoso speaks in a press conference after she is selected with the number three overall pick to the Chicago Sky n the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Chicago Sky Receive Fifth Pick in WNBA Draft Lottery

Originally posted on Chicago Sky On SI
By Palmer Johnson | Last updated Nov 25, 2025 7:00 AM ET

On Nov. 23, the WNBA draft lottery was held. The Chicago Sky had a 5.5% chance to receive the first pick, a 7.6% chance to receive the second pick, and an 86.9% chance to receive the fifth pick. Unfortunately for Chicago, the odds were not in their favor, and the ping pong balls fell to give them the fifth overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.

As shown on ESPN, the lottery fell perfectly chalk, meaning that everyone got the pick they were in line to get. The Dallas Wings received the first pick, the Minnesota Lynx received the second pick via the Chicago Sky, the Seattle Storm received the third pick via the Los Angeles Sparks, the Washington Mystics received the fourth pick and the Sky received the fifth pick, a pick that was originally the Connecticut Sun’s, but got swapped.

The Sky were represented by Nadia Rawlinson, the team’s co-owner, for the draft lottery and were only one of the five to not send a player.

What the Getting the Fifth Pick Means

For Chicago fans, this means you can pretty much give up on the hope of Awa Fam or Lauren Betts coming to the Windy City, as those two are almost guaranteed to be the top two picks in some order.

A name that could be falling in the draft is Olivia Miles. So far, the shooting development she showed last season has not carried over into her final season at TCU. Miles was mentioned in the article that was speculating on what would happen if the Sky had received the second pick, but now it is looking like she may be more in line for the fifth pick.

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Miles shot 40.6% from three last season, a massive step ahead from her 22.8% that she had the season before her injury redshirt season. The TCU Horned Frog is shooting 29.6% from three through six games per BartTorvik, which would not be super concerning had her elite 2025 shooting season not been an outlier.

A player I mentioned as a possibility for the fifth pick was Azzi Fudd, who has been absurdly efficient this season, shooting 54.8%, 23-for-42 from three this season. Fudd’s shooting is against some very real teams, as Torvik has UConn’s non-conference schedule projected as the most difficult set of games in the country. It would be unreasonable to expect her to keep this level of efficiency going, but it does show that she can be a flamethrower from deep on a decent sample size.

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I had mentioned in the Azzi Fudd section of the fifth overall pick scenario article that if the Dallas Wings fell ahead of the Sky, there was a chance she might get slightly overdrafted, with her connection to Paige Bueckers. With the Wings getting number one, that scenario is much less likely.

Overall, the fifth pick is somewhat of a setback for the Sky, but there is nearly a full college season ahead, one that could bring some surprise risers and fallers, and deliver an impact player to the Windy City.

This article first appeared on Chicago Sky On SI and was syndicated with permission.

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