Storm will pick 3rd in the 2026 WNBA Draft

Seattle will have some great options to choose from.

The WNBA Draft Lottery took place this afternoon. There was no drama. No surprises. The draft order went chalk as none of the five teams moved up or down. The Dallas Wings entered the draft with the best odds to land the #1 overall pick at 42%. And for the second year in a row, the Wings won the top prize. A year after they selected Rookie of the Year, Paige Bueckers, first overall, they’ll have the opportunity to add another top prospect. Possibly, her former UConn teammate.

The Seattle Storm will select third in the upcoming draft, completing their previous trade with the LA Sparks. Seattle’s front office gambled in 2024, trading away Kia Nurse and the 4th overall pick (which turned into Rickea Jackson) for the Sparks’ 2026 first-round pick, plus the cap space to sign Nneka Ogwumike.

Last off-season, the Storm traded away Jewell Loyd, which landed them LA’s #2 overall pick. They selected 6’6” Dominique Malonga with the pick. Now they’ll use the Sparks’ pick to add another important piece to a younger core that includes Malonga, Jordan Horston, Ezi Magbegor, and Gabby Williams (if the latter two re-sign with the team).

Dallas will pick first overall, and Seattle will pick third. Minnesota (2nd), Washington (4th), and Chicago (5th) round out the rest of the draft lottery teams. Let’s take a closer look at some of their options.

Projected Top 5

Azzi Fudd

2025 Stats: 20.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 2.4 SPG, 46.8% FG, 50% 3-PT

Career Stats: 13.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 46.1% FG, 41.5% 3-PT

Azzi Fudd is an elite shooter. Seattle has needed more three-point shooting, and there is none better in the country than Fudd. Azzi would be a great complementary piece that would help Seattle space the floor and work well with Dominique Malonga, and potentially players like Ezi Magbegor or Nneka Ogwumike if they re-sign with Seattle. Fudd is not only shooting 50% from beyond the arc (40% is considered elite), but she’s doing it on nearly eight three-point attempts per game, which is insane.

Fudd smartly decided to return to college for one more year instead of entering the 2025 WNBA Draft, where she probably would not have been a lottery pick. This season, she’s been able to step out of Paige Buecker’s shadow and improve her game to the next level. She still needs to improve her attacks to the rim, but her shooting will carry her a long way.

The biggest concern with Fudd is her injury history and her medicals. She has torn her right ACL twice. She missed half of the 2022-23 season and essentially all of the 2023-2024 season with her knee injuries. Last season was the first time she has been healthy enough to play more than 30 games in a season. As the WNBA will likely increase to 50+ games soon, staying healthy is going to be critical. If Azzi can go the entire 2025-26 season without any injuries, she should be a lock to go in the Top 5.

Olivia Miles

2025 Stats: 17.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 7.6 APG, 3.0 SPG, 46.8 FG%, 30.4% 3-PT

Career Stats: 14.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, 46.8 FG%, 31.9 % 3-PT

Olivia Miles is the top point guard prospect in this draft. Outside of an elite dynamic post player (A’ja Wilson, Stewie, Napheesa Collier, Jonquel Jones, etc.) I believe the point guard position is the most important to build a team around. We’ve seen that in Seattle as Sue Bird was the floor general who led the Storm to four WNBA Championships. Chelsea Gray has been key for the Aces’ three titles.

The Storm look to be in a good position with that unique post player after drafting 6’6” Dominique Malonga last season with the #2 overall pick. They also have the potential to re-sign Ezi Magbegor or Nneka Ogwumike, who both qualify for that role. Skylar Diggins is still playing at an All-Star level, but she’s an Unrestricted Free Agent, and she’ll turn 36 next season. Seattle still needs to find their point guard of the future.

Miles is a wizard with the basketball and has incredible court vision. You only have to watch her play a couple of games, and you’ll immediately see why she’s been compared to Chelsea Gray. On Day 1, I think she’ll already be one of the best passers in the WNBA.

She has a versatile skillset. She’s always been a strong rebounding guard throughout her career. Miles might be deceptively athletic, and she does a good job of attacking the rim as well.

Like all prospects, there are still concerns with her game. She is not a strong one-on-one defender. Notre Dame would take her out of close games at the end of the 4th quarter because of her subpar defense. Miles’ value will also depend on her ability to hit the three-point shot. She significantly improved her outside shooting to nearly 41% last season, but before that, she shot 23%, 27%, and 10% from beyond the arc. This season, she has regressed a bit, down to 30.4%. To become an elite prospect, she will need to increase that to around 35% or better.

Flau’jae Johnson

2025 Stats: 17.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.5 SPG, 55.9 FG%, 57.1% 3-PT

Career Stats: 14.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, 47.2 FG%, 37.8% 3-PT

Flau’jae Johnson is an excellent guard/wing prospect with high-end athleticism. Johnson is arguably the most complete guard in the draft. She is strong on both ends of the court. She can do just about everything. She is a strong dribbler who can create her own shot, attack the rim, and knock down the three-ball. Flau’jae would be the most obvious pick as a direct Jewell Loyd replacement. She has also been compared to the Mercury’s Kahleah Copper.

The Storm’s starting backcourt this past season was Skylar Diggins (35 years old) and Erica Wheeler (34). Most professional athletes retire in their mid-to-late 30s. You can argue that the team has needs at both the point and shooting guard positions.

Johnson has been extremely efficient this season. She’s shooting 56% overall and 57% from beyond the arc. She’s averaging over 17 PPG while playing a career-low 22 MPG. That’s because LSU has been crushing its opponents by 50+ points. They beat one team 115-26.

While health and injury histories aren’t a guarantee of what will happen once they reach the pros, Flau’jae has been the healthiest of guard/wings throughout her college career. She has started all but two games and has played 34+ games in each of her first three seasons. Azzi Fudd’s injury history is well-documented, and Olivia Miles missed the entire 2023-2024 season with a torn ACL.

If Johnson has one area to work on, it’s probably her ability to distribute the ball to her teammates. She has a career average of just 2.4 APG. While it is still early, Flau’jae is averaging nearly four assists per game this season.

Awa Fam

2025 Stats (Spain): 10.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 65.1 FG%, 0.0 3-PT %

2025 Stats (Euroleague): 7.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 47.8 FG%, 80.0 3-PT %

Awa Fam is the biggest question mark of these Top 5 prospects. Fam arguably has the highest upside of anyone in the draft. Her skillset reflects that of the league’s top players. She is of the same prototype as the new generation of dynamic post players. Players like Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones. Similar to Dominique Malonga, Fam has the height to post up, but can also stretch the floor with an outside shot. She has the athleticism and quickness to get past slower bigs, and she can keep up with smaller guards on defense.

At just 19 years old, Fam still has a lot of growth and development to do. However, she’s already shown impressive skills and low-post moves. Like Dominique Malonga, she started playing professionally in Europe as a teenager.

Admittedly, Fam is the player I’ve watched the least. From a team fit perspective, Fam may not be what Seattle really needs. One could say that selecting her could be seen as redundant after selecting Malonga in the 2025 draft. If she is still on the board when the Storm select, I will be fascinated to see what they decide because she could legitimately be the BPA (Best Player Available). Could Seattle pair Malonga and Fam together? They could become the Storm’s starting frontcourt for potentially the next 10+ years.

However, this really only makes sense to me if the Storm lose Ezi Magbegor in Free Agency. Even if they lost Ezi but retained Nneka, I’m not sure Seattle would make the pick (although it’d be more understandable). When building the roster, it feels like it’d make more sense to have Ezi and Dom in the frontcourt and add someone like Olivia Miles or Flau’jae Johnson to the team.

Lauren Betts

2025 Stats: 15.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 2.2 BPG, 59.6 FG%, 3-PT % (N/A)

Career Stats: 13.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.6 APG, 2.0 BPG, 63.7 FG%, 3-PT % (N/A)

Lauren Betts is another interesting prospect for the 2026 WNBA Draft. She is a dominant low-post center who is 6’7”. You can teach a lot of things in the game of basketball, but you can’t teach height. Until recently, Betts had been considered the likely number one overall pick in the draft.

Betts is a true low-post threat. She is an extremely efficient scorer and has a career shooting average of nearly 64% from the floor. She has been extremely difficult to guard and does a great job of sealing off her opponents down low. She has also been an effective shot blocker on the defensive end, averaging 2.0 BPG.

The reason Betts could fall in this draft is that she is not a “new generation” big. She is a more traditional Center that stays near the rim. She has never taken a three-point shot during her four years of college. Betts is a bit of a dying breed. With that said, I don’t think she’s a statue out there. Players like Teaira McCowan (6’7”) have fallen out of favor with WNBA teams as more post-players have developed into hybrids (Stewie being a strong example). I see Betts as somewhere in between.

She might struggle staying in front of faster players like Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Ezi Magbegor, etc., but I don’t think she’ll be completely ineffective on the defensive end. I think she can potentially be compared to players like Brionna Jones, Brittney Griner, or Aliyah Boston. Lauren will need to continue to develop at least a mid-range jumper to reach her potential.

Of the five players on this list, I feel Betts is the least likely to be drafted by the Storm. Malonga, at 6’6”, has higher upside because she is one of those hybrid players who can stretch the floor. If the team re-signs both Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor, there is really no need to use a lottery pick on another low-post scorer when there will be better fits still on the board. If Seattle had dropped to the 4th or 5th overall pick, they might have taken her as the BPA, but with the 3rd overall pick, I just don’t see it.

One storyline to keep an eye on is whether or not Betts could fall out of the lottery entirely. She could end up 1st or 2nd in the draft, but if she doesn’t, I’m not sure she is a fit with the rest of the lottery teams. Her best fits are with Dallas or Minnesota, but let’s say they take Azzi Fudd and Awa Fam instead. If Seattle re-signs Ezi, Nneka, or both, I don’t see them taking her. The Washington Mystics already have Shakira Austin and Kiki Iriafen, and the Chicago Sky have Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. Unless the Sky end up trading Reese, I don’t see Lauren as a fit with them either.

Notes:
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