WNBA 2026 Mock Draft Top 10

We map out our WNBA 2026 draft expectations from the top pick through No. 10, using team needs and player fit to explain every projection. We end by looking at how trades, expansion teams, and draft-night surprises could flip the board, then we ask you to challenge our picks. 
• Projected WNBA 2026 draft order and why it looks wild 
• Dallas Wings fit next to Paige Bueckers and the case for an athletic big 
• Minnesota Lynx options around Napheesa Collier and the pull of elite size 
• Seattle Storm and why a true point guard changes the ceiling 
• Washington Mystics guard need and the Azzi Fudd argument 
• Chicago Sky wing upgrade and how Flau’jae Johnson fits the front-court 
• Toronto Tempo expansion team strategy and prioritizing efficient shooting 
• Portland Fire building a backcourt with Kiki Rice 
• Golden State Valkyries targeting youth, versatility, and effort 
• Late picks, stash players, and why the Fever can go many directions 
• Draft date details and what chaos could happen before April 13 
Please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, and tell anyone who's anyone one about women basketball in the WNBA, but two, also my show. 

Transcript

Welcome And Draft Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show, get a bucket. I'm your host, Train as usual. I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Look, we have March Madness for the women in. The men's side has ended as well, too. So we're going to be talking about basketball drafts, at least my prediction. But we're going to focus on the women's side today. So the WNBA 2026 draft, here are my expectations, if you will. And I'm only going to talk about the top seven. Maybe top I might do the first ten. I might do the first ten. We'll see how I'm feeling. But anyways, so the order in which the WNBA first ten picks are going, I may stop at seven. I may go to ten. We'll see how it goes. But number one, we got the Dallas Wings. After that, we got the Minnesota Lynx, which is crazy because they have a good team. We got the Seattle Storm at number three, which again is crazy because they have a good team. We got the Washington Mystics at number four. We got the Chicago Sky at number five. We got the Toronto Tempo, that's the new team, number six. And we got the Portland Fire at number seven. Then we got the Golden State Valkyries at number eight. Again, the Washington Mystics at number nine, and then the Indiana Fever is number 10. It's really disgusting to see this because I know my Sparks, we had to change draft picks. We had to swap draft picks with the storm just because we ended up getting Kelsey Plum. So, you know, that's part of the reason why my sparks, who were at the bottom of the barrel last season, aren't listed off here. Just give a little context. But with that being said, ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna start this off with the number one team. Well, in the draft order at least, the Dallas Wings. Listen, I think they need an interior presence and/slash or a second option, right? Paige Beckers has been playing pretty well this season, but I think it comes down to say a quality big could help out along the way. Think of how Caitlin Clark has Aaliyah Boston, right? Or even Sabrina Inescue has, well, Stewie's not really a big, but she's about 6'3, 6'4. So we can counter as that. But also, how about John Quell Jones? Chelsea Gray with Asia Wilson. So I think a big pairing would work out splendid. And I got two quality bigs to talk about. We either have Our Fam or Lauren Betts. Now, Our Fam is an athletic big 6'4. Lauren Betts is, I wouldn't say athletic, but you can't teach height, and that's 6'7. That's a lot of height to work with. So I gotta think which big pairs best with Paige going forward. Now, I go with our fam because she's 19 years old, ladies and gentlemen. She has good touch, she has good athleticism, the motor. I don't think it's bad from what I've seen. Now, I don't know her personally. I don't know any of these ladies personally, but just from outside looking in, I think our fam might pair best with Paige as well as the future aspect, right? Again, 6'4 with a 6'8 wingspan, that's not bad. And when I saw her last season, I thought she could be a top 10 pick for sure, but I know for a fact that she has gotten a little stronger, a little sturdier. So paired with that athletic build, I think I'd take her number one over Lauren Betts. Again, the the shooting form, the defensive tenacity I see from our fam. It's not major dis, it's not there's not a major disparity between her and Lauren Betts. Is Lauren Betts good for sure? I think our bet, I think our fam, because of her age, her athletic ability, I'd bank on that one personally. There's some other players you could pick too. Like I I could see the Wings trying to go for AZ Fudd from UConn or Flag J Johnson from LSU. Like again, I could see those pairings, but I think our fam might be the best pairing for the Dallas Wings. Number two, we got the Minnesota Lynx. I thought they needed a guard, right? But then I thought about it as well, too. They have a decent amount of guards. You got Courtney Williams and the studbug crew, right? You got Kayla McBride, aka Caleb McBuckets. Like she's able to get a bucket, all right? So they do have quality guards. And now I got to think, okay, well, what player are you gonna pair with Nafisa Collier? Because Nafisa's about 28, 29 years old, so you can still get a couple of good seasons out of Nafisa before she might not be a one option. Maybe she slips down to a number two option. If I'm the Minnesota Lynx, I'm looking at getting a big. You need to either replace Bridget Carrollton because they did lose her to the expansion draft, but also you need somebody who can potentially replace Alana Smith, who's been pretty well as a defender and a big. And that's why I'm looking at Lauren Betts, ladies and gentlemen. Again, Lauren Betts, 6'7. You can't teach height. She's a national champion. I like her in tangibles personally. I think she fits along someone like a Nafisa Collier. I think that pairing can go well in the future. Again, you got somebody who can learn from some quality bigs who are defensive-minded. Lauren Betts is taller than those players. She could be more dominant than those players. Learning from a Nafisa Collier, I think that could work out splendid, as well as her being able to fit in wonderfully right now with a playoff contending team, with a championship contending team. I think that's something for them to look forward to. Some players for them to consider, Olivia Miles, because she is the best point guard in this draft class. And I think she could put force Courtney Williams to become that sixth woman of the year again, which is my personal best position for Courtney Williams, because now she can be a scorer, she can be a playmaker, she can run her own second unit. I like Courtney as a sixth woman. So having someone like Olivia Miles forcing that option for the Lynx, I think that could work out well. As well as AZ Fudd, again, an efficient scoring guard. You can learn from Kayla McBride. I think that could pair out nicely as well, too. But I like Lauren Betts over Olivia Miles and AZ Fudd for the Lynx. That's just me personally. Now let's go ahead and move on down to number three, the Seattle Storm. They can ultimately go any direction because it's a little bit uncertain as to who's gonna stay on the team. They still have NECA, right? They still have Ezie McBagore, they still have Skylar Diggins. So they have a good team around them. This is where I would get a little interesting. Because don't like to be clear, Skylar Diggins, she is a point guard, but she can play combo as well, too. And this is why I look at someone like an Olivia Miles. Because again, best point guard, she could learn after someone like Skylar Diggins, but also play on the floor with her. But not to mention, the pairing of Olivia Miles and Dominique Malonga and Ezzy McBagor long-term could be pretty spectacular. I would consider AZ Fudd here as well, too, given her efficient scoring as well as the potential star status, right? Could you build around AZ Fudd and have that be the lead dog of that big three along with Dominique Malonga and Ezzy McBagore? Potentially. But again, I do like Olivia Miles on this Seattle store team because she can also score the ball pretty well. She can get a bucket pretty well and efficiently too, as well as playmake and defend. So I would take Olivia Miles number three personally. Now let's go on to the Washington Mystics, if you will. I think they need a guard because they have their forward of the future. They have their bigs of the future. This is where I'm looking at someone like an AZ Fudd, because again, we get that efficient scoring guard, a little bit of playmaking. Her and Sonya Citron, I think, could work out fairly nice in terms of an offense and defensive tandem. And both of them can defend decently. I think Sonya's the better defender, but maybe AZ's the better offensive player. That might be the case. But again, though, they could fit nicely as a two and three, meaning shooting guard and small forward for the Mystics. And now you just got to give your guards an opportunity to properly develop. Like a Georgia or more, maybe she can pan out nicely for you all. Or you can get a veteran guard to help anchor in some of the and rein in some of these young guns that you got. But I think AZ Fuck can pan out nicely. Some honorable mentions. Gianna Neepkins, who has been shooting one, she she she shot 50-40-90 just this season, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not mad at that at all. You could also go Kiki Rice. Again, from a balanced guard perspective, she shoots the ball pretty decently, defends alright. She could play alongside the future of the team. I I hear all of these. I like AZ Food over all of them personally, just because of what she brings, intangible-wise, game-wise, over the other two. But again, the Mystics could go a couple different directions. Now the Chicago Sky, this one was a little bit interesting. Because let's say some of these players slip. Like let's say someone like AZ FUD slips. I think the sky ended up getting AZ Fud end of the day. But if we're going based on my picks, I'm going Flag A Johnson. And it was this simple. One, they need a forward. They have their bigs. They may have, they may have their guard of the future. Okay? They may have it. We just gotta wait and see. But they could use an upgrade in forwards. And keep in mind, Flager Johnson, she reminded me of Khalia Copper. Now, Khalia Copper was no slou for the Chicago Sky. Matter of fact, she won finals MVP, if I'm not mistaken. And when I look at Flager Johnson, we get a versatile wing, smaller, yes, like just a little bit shorter. But offensively, she has the same mold and makeup that Kalia Copper does. And I think bringing that to the team paired with the Angel Reese, paired with a Camilla Cardoza, I think that can go pretty well. I really do. Because it's not like Flager can't shoot the three-ball. She's okay from three. I can't hold you on that one. So again, ladies and gentlemen, when I'm looking at this team across the board, the Chicago Sky got to go Flager Johnson. They have to. If they don't, I'd be curious who they go with. Now they could go with Gianna Neepkins again, 50-40-90, shooting the ball, 40% from three. I think that could pair well. But I think Flager's defensive tenacity and her versatility across the board make me put Flag A over someone like a Gianna Neepkins. I thought about a Gabriela Jaquez out of UCLA as well, too. But again, I think they need more of a star potential caliber player than what Gabriela is going to bring. Gabriela is more of a like a role player who has a little bit of promise. So I'd be curious how she does. But again, those two players, I could, I could expect them to maybe try to take the sky meeting, but again, I'm picking Flag A Johnson personally. Now going down to number six, the Toronto Tempos, they have already selected. Well, they've already had their own draft. But it's the expansion draft, right? So with that, ladies and gentlemen, I know they have some interesting players on their team. They selected Julie Alleman first. They got Niara Sabali second, or they got Niara Sabali, and then they have Marina Maybury. So that's a decent little team to build with, right? I'm going Gianna Needkins right here because, again, I told y'all, she's a 50, 40, 90 caliber player coming out of college. I think someone like this could learn from Marina Maybury. Marina is a good quality score. She can get a bucket pretty well. Not gonna hold you. And being able to learn, if I'm Gianna, how to play alongside and beside Marina, you can learn some good things from Marina because Marina can get a bucket. Marina has actually done some damage in the WNBA, like shooting the ball wise. But she's hot. She's one of the best players in the game. And seeing Gianna get like that, that could be something potentially good. Also, I want to look at Kiki Rice, again, that balanced guard from UCLA, or Gabriela Jacques. I could see someone like those two coming out of this draft and going to the Toronto Tempo. So again, the Toronto Tempo, it's an expansion team. It's a new team. They can go a multitude of directions. But I could see Gianna Neikins going to the Toronto Tempo. Now, number seven, we have here the Portland Fire. That's such a tough name. That's such a fire name, the Portland Fire. So y'all gotta be coming out the gates with like firing on all senders. I gotta see someone getting a bucket out here. I gotta see something new. This is where I'm looking at a player like Kiki Rice. Now, Kiki Rice out of UCLA has been kind of interesting. Because she's averaged double digits over her entire college career. She's been a fairly efficient player while also being able to pass the ball efficiently. Now, here's the thing. Somebody might knock her and say, oh, well, she was playing with Lauren Betts the entire time. So her assist should be up. Okay, fine. Let's even say that's accurate. Here's my thing. She still had to do it. And in the championship game, she played pretty, she played pretty well. All right, against my Blue Devils, she played pretty well. She's been playing pretty well throughout the course of her playoff experience, specifically this season. Now, did she have some inefficient games at times? Yes, she did. But again, she was playing, not with that green light. And I think on this Portland fire team, maybe she plays with a little more green light. Like you're playing with the Emily Inksler, who's not necessarily known as a scorer, but she can do a couple of versatile things out there. Haley Jones, she was a highly talented recruit or draft pick. She was playing pretty well in college. She played as a guard. She can also defend Shuk Sutton, Maya Caldwell. They have a couple of decent players out here, but also Bridget Carrollton. They have a couple players that understand how to play the game of basketball with a couple of players with decent potential. And I think someone like Kiki Rice can be challenged by those players and forcing Kiki to even be a better player herself. So again, if I'm the Portland Fire, I'm looking at Kiki Rice as my pickup personally. I'd also consider Gabrielle Jacques as well as Nell and Gloma, which Nell, again, I already told y'all about Gabriella. Nell, she's been doing pretty well. She's an undersized forward, questionable. But again, the fire might be able to utilize a forward. So again, ladies and gentlemen, I would consider Nell, and I would consider Gabriella, but I'd probably go Kiki Rice on this one. Now, the Golden State Valkyrie, they need youth. I personally think they need youth. And they can go a couple of directions here with this one, okay? They already have Useless Usette from last year's draft that they ended up stashing, basically. So they could go the same thing this season. However, I I watched this girl played in the championship game, and I thought her versatility, I thought her family ties, her balanced scoring opportunity mixed with good height could be a wonderful addition to the Golden State Valperies. And that's Gabriela Jacquez. Now, her family ties is Jaime Haquez Jr. out of the off the Miami Heat. And he's been playing pretty well while he's been in the NBA. And I saw some of the same intangibles out of Gabriella that I do out of Jaime. So again, I may go Gabriella, even though the most youthful player in this draft might be Nell Angloma, who, again, I have questions on if she's an undersized forward. Now the potential, because of her age, you could think, okay, well, maybe Nell's going to improve over time, and maybe Gabriela won't. I think Gabriella might have the opportunity to improve over time because her her her her versatility, right? Her hustle, her get up and go about herself, you can't teach effort, honestly. Like you, like I'm I'm I'm lying, actually. You can't teach effort. But the way she battled consistently, that effort was there every game. And that part is very hard to teach. That's something you have to teach early on. So you can't just up and get that randomly. That happens at an early age, ladies and gentlemen. So for me, the Golden State Valkyrie at a time where they're not a high draft pick. So I'm not assuming these guys or these ladies to be star-studded players, but I could see Gabriela maybe making an all-star game once or twice just because of her effort and being in the right position. So again, Valkyries, I'm going Gabriella. Now, the Washington Mystics, this is where I would try to get a little interesting. Because again, the ninth pick, I'd be curious who I'd want to go with. I could go with Nell, I could try to get another big, I could try to go guards, whether we're talking about Raven Johnson or we're talking about Tania Lotson. I could do a couple of different things. Because they have everything they need. So this could be a stash player, which is where Nell comes to mind. Because again, youth, once she's a forward, could she be undersized? Maybe. So maybe they don't have to worry about her being as a forward as much, because now you got Sonia Citron and you got AZ Fudd, if I'm not mistaken, for my own draft. So if you got those two, I think having someone like Nell come off the bench, that works well. So if you want to get Nell, if you want to draft Nell, she might be able to get a bucket for you. She might be able to play some defense as well, too. I saw the passing ability, her shooting ability looked okay from three. I may go Nell for this one. But again, ladies and gentlemen, the Mystics can go a couple of different directions after their first pick. But I think AZ Foot has to get drafted first if they're in that position, and then you can go with whatever you want to. If they want to even entertain a Raven Johnson or Tania Lotson, I hear it. But again, I might end up going Nell for this one. And then the and that's number nine pick, ladies and gentlemen. Now, the number 10 pick, the Indiana Fever. I think they got their guard. I think they have their big, and I think they have their forwards. A thing that I think they could probably end up getting a little bit better. Maybe a guard off the bench. Or if they want to draft a big, I'm not mad at it either. I hear that too. But it just depends on who's gonna end up returning, honestly. That's gonna be an interesting thing. But again, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the Indiana Fever, they have a lot to showcase. They have a lot to utilize, they have a lot to decide. And they can go a bunch of different directions for this one. So I'm gonna be looking forward to seeing what happens over the next couple days. But ladies and gentlemen, the WNBA draft, it is supposed to take place April 13th at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in New York. I'm gonna be tuning in for this for sure because each team can go a different direction for what I stated. Who knows? The Wings could end up going AZ Pho because of her relation and ties to Paige Becker's. The Lynx could end up trading that pick. Who knows? Like, what if Chicago wants to make a wild trade and trade someone like Angie? I don't know. Like there's a bunch of things that could happen. I that would actually be really interesting if that actually happened, though. But there could be a bunch of things that occur, ladies and gentlemen. So we just gotta wait and see what entertaining surprises turn up when April 13th gets here. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So I am curious. One, do you feel like I'm wrong in some of my predictions or slash expectations? And two, who would you want these teams to draft? It does suck that my sparks are not in here. I can't hold you. I would have loved getting Olivia Miles. I really would. That sucks so badly. Oh my gosh. But that's enough about my Sparks. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. I hope you can hope you like the episode. Please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, and tell anyone who's anyone one about women basketball in the WNBA, but two, also my show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you're all having a good one. Take care.