The 2026 WNBA regular season came to a close on Thursday, which means the playoff bracket is set. So, too, is the lottery odds order. After the Connecticut Sun beat the Toronto Tempo in the final game ever in Uncasville, the two teams will split the best odds for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft.
The WNBA uses two-season aggregate records to determine lottery odds, but for the two expansion teams, the Tempo and Portland Fire, only this season's record will be considered. After Thursday's result, the Sun's two-season record is 22-66, while the Tempo's record this season is 11-33. Because the two teams have identical .250 winning percentages, the league will combine each team's lottery combinations and divide them evenly.
If there is an even number of combinations, the teams will have identical odds for the No. 1 overall pick. If there is an odd number of combinations, the league will use a tiebreaker to determine which team gets the extra combinations. The first tiebreaker is their record from the current season.
Both teams finished 11-33, so it goes to the second tiebreaker, which is head-to-head record between the teams in the current season. The Tempo won the season series 2-1, so the Sun would actually "win" the tiebreaker and get the one extra combination if necessary. The WNBA has not yet revealed the new lottery odds, now that there are seven teams involved (up from five last year), and it's unclear when an announcement will be made.
While we don't know the exact lottery odds yet, we do know the order of the lottery odds and the teams involved. In addition to the Sun and Tempo, this year's lottery crew includes the Chicago Sky, Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks. However, those will not be the seven teams drafting in the lottery.
The Sky owe the Mystics a first-round pick swap, while the Mercury traded their first-round pick to the Sparks, who will have two lottery selections as a result. It is important to note, however, that lottery odds are based on the team that originally owned the pick. The Sun's rebuild continued with another difficult season, both on and off the court.
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