2026 WNBA Draft: 5 Elite Picks Ready to Transform the League
The 2026 WNBA Draft had a lot of talented players at the top of the draft, a dominant UCLA senior class that featured all six players getting drafted, as well as the Dallas Wings picking back-to-back UCONN guards in back-to-back Drafts as well. Also, the Minnesota Lynx is getting a great passer in Olivia Miles to go along with Napheesa Collier when she comes back from injury.
This Draft will have a ton of impact because the top three of Miles, Azzi Fudd, and Awa Fam all have the potential to be the best player of the class, whereas in the previous two classes, the clear best player was the No.1 overall pick of each class, in Paige Bueckers (2025) and Caitlin Clark (2024). This list is the five picks that I think are the game-changers for the team that drafted them, not necessarily the best players of the draft. So let’s dive into this list.
1. Azzi Fudd to Dallas
Yes, I’m starting with the first pick of the night in UCONN guard Azzi Fudd to the Dallas Wings. Dallas had numerous options with this pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, as they could have gone with a big in Fam, or a playmaker in Miles, but they decided to go with the former teammate and current life-partner of their superstar in Bueckers, the sharpshooter in Fudd.
Fudd shot 48.1% from the field and 44.7% from three in her senior year at Connecticut, both of those career bests, along with a career high 17.3 points per game. The year that Bueckers and Fudd won the championship together was no slouch either for Fudd, where she shot 43.6 from three-point range that season as well. So Dallas fans are getting that duo back together once again on the basketball court in that backcourt with Arike Ogunbowale, that could be a lethal combination for sure, and could change the tide for the WNBA season for sure.
2. Lauren Betts to the Mystics
The Mystics once again had a great draft after the three picks last year in Sonia Citron, Kiki Irafen, and Georgia Amoore (Who didn’t play due to an ACL injury last season). They followed that successful draft with another three very solid first-round picks, with the headliner being my favorite big in this draft over Fam, in UCLA’s Lauren Betts.
Betts averaged 17 points and eight rebounds a game this season for the newly crowned National Champion Bruins. She was always going to be the first Bruin of the six to be selected in this draft because of what she can do on both sides of the floor, especially as a consistent scoring big in the WNBA. The duo of her and Iriafen is going to be dominant with Citron and Amoore controlling the pace from the backcourt. I’m personally looking forward to watching Mystic games in 2026 with this young core, maybe making a run to the postseason.
3. Raven Johnson to the Fever
As I highlighted in my last WNBA article about the Fever, the Fever needed stability at the backup point guard spot, especially if Caitlin Clark continues to have little injuries that will keep her on the sidelines. And with the 10th pick of the first round, Indiana answered that with Raven Johnson from South Carolina. Johnson averaged 9.9 points per game and 5.1 assists per game in 2025-26 for Dawn Staley’s squad, but here entagables and defense are going to be a different change of pace to the flashy game that Clark brings every night.
The Fever have made impressive moves to address the weakness that they had last season, and getting a backup point guard to stabilize the ship if Clark goes out was the biggest move that could see Indiana winning the title.
4. Olivia Miles to the Lynx
I have the 2nd overall pick as my fourth most game-changing pick, because with the turmoil of the roster of the Lynx right now, they might not be the contenders yet, but having Naphesea Collier and Olivia Miles being a great duo for years to come that could bring the Lynx back to winning the WNBA championship once again in the future, as Miles averaged 15, six, and six at TCU during her last season.
5. Gabriela Jaquez to the Sky
The Sky getting Jaquez was the first shocker of the draft, as I expected the Sky to grab Flau’jae Johnson with that pick, but they got Jaquez, who won the NCAA Most Outstanding Player of the 2026 Tournament.
Jaquez is the perfect combo guard that can be the team’s future point guard, but also can play alongside a guard like Hailey Van Lith, as well as newly acquired Skylar Diggins. Also, Jaquez can learn quickly from the veteran Diggins and be productive in her rookie season. Although the Sky might not win that many games in the 2026 WNBA calendar, this move can be a game-changer for the future in my estimation.
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