New York Liberty wins WNBA Draft Lottery for second year in a row



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For the second year in a row, the New York Liberty have won the WNBA Draft Lottery and will be first in the April Draft. The remainder of the WNBA Draft Lottery, which was revealed on Friday, was Dallas at No.2 – also for the second year in a row – Atlanta at No.3 and Indiana at No.4. Lottery odds are based on cumulative. records of the last two regular seasons.

“The fans who have rolled or died with this team since 1997 deserve it,” said Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb. “They earned it last year. If you really look at the trajectory of this franchise, where it’s going… it’s exciting. It’s about time for good things to happen. When you build something, it takes time. Now we have the opportunity. “

With a cumulative record of 12-44, the Liberty had the most chances to land the first pick (442 out of 1,000). Atlanta (15-41) had 276 in 1,000 chances of winning the first pick, Dallas (18-38) had 178 and Indiana (19-37) had 104.

The order of selection of the WNBA Draft for the remainder of the first round and all of the second and third rounds is determined by the reverse order of the teams arriving in the regular season in 2020.

The consensus among WNBA coaches and general managers that there is no clear pick for pick # 1 at this point. One of the contenders is Texas center Charli Collier, who is a draft-eligible junior, but has not said if she will enter the league sooner. With just two wins in 2020, the Liberty has nowhere to go but on top and could see Collier, who has already had a 44-point outing this season for the Longhorns, as another building block.

“We write for the sake of form when it comes to character,” said Kolb, who premiered Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, UConn’s Megan Walker at No. 9 and Louisville’s Jazmine Jones at No. 12 at No. first round of 2020. “That’s what we’re looking for. I probably think [we are] more job oriented. But as you know, we play a five-withdrawal system. We need shooters. “

The Liberties were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA when the league began in 1997, and they were owned by the MSG Company until Joseph Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets, bought the team in 2019. New York n ‘never won a WNBA title; the franchise’s last trip to the WNBA Finals was in 2002. The Liberties haven’t made the playoffs since 2017, Bill Laimbeer was there last year as a coach before leaving for Las Vegas. Former WNBA player Katie Smith was head coach in 2018-19, and Walt Hopkins took over last year.

Those same four teams also got the lottery picks for 2020, with New York securing the No.1 pick for the first time in franchise history. There was enthusiasm for Ionescu after her brilliant college career, but she missed most of the WNBA season after an early ankle injury. New York went 2-20 in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida.

Dallas took Ionescu’s Oregon teammate Satou Sabally at No.2, Indiana took Baylor’s Lauren Cox at No.3 and Atlanta took Texas A&M’s Chennedy Carter at No.4. of them was rookie of the year; who went to Crystal Dangerfield of Minnesota, who was a second-round selection at No. 16 overall.

Atlanta has had the No. 1 selection once: in 2009, when The Dream picked Angel McCoughtry of Louisville. Dallas, a franchise that was previously in Detroit and Tulsa, never had the No. 1 selection, and neither did Indiana.

Dream coach Nicki Collen has said there are more uncertainties than certainties right now with the 2021 draft, including how free agency will affect team selections. In general, Collen says the dream needs more depth in the post, especially with a post player more adept at making games.

“When you look at the success of Seattle, LA, Connecticut, it’s this versatile player who can really handle the ball, pass it, shoot it, put us on offense,” said Collen. “Someone who can affect the game from a point forward position.”

Then again, Collen said the dream may well end up with the best player available, whether it’s a specific fit or not. The same could be said of other lottery teams. Dallas could watch a player like Arizona’s Aari McDonald with the second pick, although they already have an outstanding shooting guard at Arike Ogunbowale. As young as the Wings are, general manager Greg Bibb said they can also choose to use one or more of their three first-round picks in a trade.

“It’s proven that to really win in a meaningful way in the WNBA, you need to have veteran leadership and experience to win those close games,” said Bibb. “And we’ve been empty of that. Certainly, that will be something that we look to address this offseason.”

Indiana coach Marianne Stanley said the NCAA’s decision to allow players, even seniors, to return for another college season due to the impact of COVID-19 could have an impact on the 2021 WNBA Draft Pool.

“Right now it’s difficult to go out and see the players live; we watch the games a lot on video,” Stanley said. “And we may not know for a long time who will be in the draft and who will not be.”

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