Fever earn No. 1 pick in WNBA draft for first time

Indiana Fever interim wide manager Lin Dunn said earlier Friday that she'd beryllium watching the 2023 WNBA draught lottery aboriginal that evening with a rabbit foot, her fingers crossed and "some different charms I can't notation successful public."

Whatever Dunn did to get luck connected her broadside worked: For the archetypal clip successful franchise history, the Fever earned the No. 1 wide prime successful the upcoming 2023 WNBA draft, arsenic announced astatine the lottery Friday evening anterior to the commencement of the No. 1 South Carolina-No. 17 Maryland game.

The reigning nationalist subordinate of the year, Aliyah Boston from South Carolina, is the presumptive No. 1 wide pick, considered by galore to beryllium a perchance franchise-changing figure.

The Fever had the champion accidental of immoderate squad (44.2%) to get the No. 1 pick. Lottery likelihood are based connected teams' cumulative grounds implicit the past 2 regular seasons.

The Minnesota Lynx -- the four-time WNBA champions who missed the playoffs successful 2022 for the archetypal clip since 2010 -- earned the No. 2 prime contempt lone having a 14.5% chance.

"We are excited to onshore the 2nd wide prime successful the 2023 WNBA Draft,'' said Lynx manager and president of hoops operations Cheryl Reeve. "This enactment volition nary uncertainty beryllium an important portion of our aboriginal arsenic we signifier the adjacent epoch of Lynx basketball.''

The Atlanta Dream volition prime 3rd overall, followed by the Washington Mystics astatine No. 4. The remainder of the archetypal circular volition beryllium Chicago, New York, Indiana, Atlanta, Seattle, Connecticut, Dallas and Minnesota.

The Mystics made the postseason but via a commercialized obtained the close to swap their first-round prime for Los Angeles' 2023 first-round prime acquired by the Dream successful an earlier trade.

"Last year, we bushed the likelihood successful the lottery, and unfortunately, didn't this year,'' said Washington wide manager and manager Mike Thibault. "However, arsenic a effect of the trade, we person moved up 4 spots successful the draft. We volition get an fantabulous subordinate with the 4th pick, and I look guardant to continuing to amended our roster this offseason.''

Indiana franchise stalwart Kelsey Mitchell -- a erstwhile No. 2 prime herself -- was unrecorded astatine ESPN studios successful Bristol, Connecticut, for the draught lottery amusement representing the Fever.

Earlier successful the day, the franchise introduced its caller coach, Christie Sides, kickstarting a caller epoch for the storied enactment aft a lengthy agelong of underperforming. The Fever made the postseason each play from 2005 to 2016, clinching the WNBA rubric successful 2012, but person failed to marque the playoffs ever since the status of fable Tamika Catchings.

"This is simply a precise beardown draft," Dunn said successful a statement. "We volition get a large subordinate picking astatine No. 1."

The Fever person 5 players drafted past twelvemonth inactive connected their roster, including No. 2 wide prime NaLyssa Smith and Destanni Henderson, Boston's constituent defender astatine South Carolina. The brace led the Gamecocks to the 2022 nationalist championship.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.