Team wins WNBA draft lottery
Washington will have the No. 1 pick in 2022
The Washington Mystics will have a chance to restock and rebound from their worst season under coach Mike Thibault after securing the No. 1 pick in the 2022 WNBA draft.
At Sunday’s draft lottery, the Indiana Fever, AtlantaDream,MysticsandDallasWingshada shotatthetoppick.TheMysticsmovedupfrom No. 3; they will be followed by the Fever, Dream and Wings.
Sunday was Washington’s first draft lottery victory; it entered with a 17.8 percent chance of getting the top spot. The only other time the Mystics had the No. 1 pick was in 1999 — before thelotterywasputinplace;theyselectedHallof Famer Chamique Holdsclaw.
The Mystics finished ninth this season at 12-20,missingtheplayoffsforthefirsttimesince 2016 and just the second time under Thibault. Their .375 winning percentage was their worst since2012,whentheywent5-29(.147)andthen hired Thibault that December.
“Thisisachangerforus,”Thibaultsaidduring an interview on ESPN.
Thereisn’taclear-cutNo.1pickinApril’sdraft, butKentuckyguardRhyneHowardandBaylor forward NaLyssa Smith are considered the top prospects. The 6-foot-2 Howard is an offensive threatoneverylevelandisaveraging18.3points. She is a two-time first-team all-American and a two-time SEC player of the year selection.
Smithwasanall-Americanandtheconsensus Big12playeroftheyearlastseason.Thisyear,the 6-4forwardleadsthenationat13.2reboundsper game and ranks 14th in scoring at 20.4 points.
She is an energetic player whose physicality and versatility is expected to translate well to the WNBA.
Michigan forward Naz Hillmon, Mississippi forward Shakira Austin, North Carolina State center Elissa Cunane, South Carolina guard Destanni Henderson, Iowa State guard Ashley Joens and Connecticut guard Evina Westbrook are in the mix to be high firstround picks.