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.
Indiana Fever Lottery History
For the fourth time in team history, the Indiana Fever will rely on luck at the WNBA Draft Lottery.
The Fever and New York Liberty have the longest active playoff droughts and 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.
Since the league changed its lottery format, the Fever has yet to secure the No. 1 or No. 4 overall picks in the WNBA Draft.
In 2019, the Fever had the second best odds of securing the No.1 pick but were leapfrogged by the Dallas Wings, as Fever fell to No.3.
Take a look below to see who the Fever have selected with their previous lottery picks…
DRAFT LOTTERY HISTORY | ||||
Year | Player | From | Round | Pick |
2020 | Lauren Cox | Baylor | 1 | 3 |
2019 | Teaira McCowan | Mississippi State | 1 | 3 |
2018 | Kelsey Mitchell | Ohio State | 1 | 2 |
2004 | Tan White | Mississippi State | 1 | 2 |
2003 | Lottery pick was traded to Charlotte Sting in exchange for Kelly Miller | 1 | 3 |
How Does The WNBA Lottery Work?
Lottery odds are based on the cumulative records of the two most recent regular seasons (2019 and 2020).
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.
Take a glance at the 4 teams in the Lottery and their chances of picking within the top-four…
- New York (12-44) — 44.2%
- Atlanta (15-41) — 27.6%
- Dallas (18-38) — 17.8%
- Indiana (19-37) — 10.4%
How To Watch the 2021 WNBA Lottery
On Friday, Dec. 4, 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.