Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

It’s that day. The 2023 WNBA Draft kicks off at 7 p.m. ET and for players from all over, their dreams of playing in the WNBA will be one step closer to coming true. The offseason which saw Breanna Stewart go to New York and Candace Parker go to Las Vegas among other big moves, left teams with gaps to fill, and the draft is just one more tool teams will use to make those fills.

The first pick goes to the Indiana Fever who have built themselves a great young core around Emily Engstler (Louisville), Destanni Henderson (South Carolina) and Lexie Hull (Stanford). With Kelsey Mitchell providing veteran experience, the Fever are wealthy in the guard spot and projected #1 pick Aliyah Boston may see herself as the newest piece to this young Fever core.

The second pick goes to the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx finished the 2022 season with a 14-22 record. Going into this season, their roster will powered by Bridget Carleton (Iowa State) and veteran Kayla McBride.

The Dallas Wings round out the top three picks, along with holding onto the fifth pick thanks to the Phoenix Mercury, and projections have Villanova forward Maddy Siegrist becoming the newest member of the Dallas Wings alongside Arike Ogunbowale. The Wings recently acquired all-star guard Diamond DeShields to add to the backcourt and playing alongside Arike, that backcourt should be one to watch throughout the season.

The rest of the first round sees the Washington Mystics pick at the four spot thanks to Los Angeles, the Atlanta Dream coming in at 6, the Fever back on the clock at 7, Dream at 8, Seattle Storm at 9, Los Angeles Sparks at 10 with the Wings and Lynx rounding out the first round at picks 11 and 12.

It should be a night full of excitement and dreams come true for the athletes who have been working endlessly to hear their name called, and the start of a long journey culminating in the WNBA Championship in the fall. Make sure to catch the draft Monday night at 7 p.m. eastern.