Comets and Tempo Lead a Seven-Way Chase for No. 1 as the WNBA Draft Lottery Nears

Fourteen ping-pong balls, one accounting firm and six franchises that would rather forget 2026. That is the cast for Sunday night, when the WNBA finds out who gets first crack at a draft class that could be headlined by the most famous player in college basketball.

The 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery will air Sunday, Nov. 15, from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, right after UConn plays Louisville, with TSN carrying it in Canada, according to the league (opens in a new tab). WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin will reveal the results. It is the 26th lottery in league history and ESPN's 15th straight year televising it, and with two expansion teams now in the mix, this year's drum holds seven entries.

The odds, ranked

The league hands out 1,000 combinations based on winning percentage. Established teams are judged on their combined 2025 and 2026 records, while expansion clubs Toronto and Portland count only their first season. Here is how the chances for No. 1 shake out, per the WNBA:

Houston, 22-66: 329 combinations (32.9 percent). Toronto, 11-33: 329 (32.9 percent). Washington, via Chicago's pick, 26-62: 161 (16.1 percent). Seattle, 31-57: 93 (9.3 percent). Portland, 17-27: 52 (5.2 percent). Los Angeles, 37-51: 24 (2.4 percent). Los Angeles, via Phoenix's pick, 43-45: 12 (1.2 percent).

Only the top two picks are actually drawn. Four of the 14 balls come out to form a combination, the team holding it takes No. 1, and the process repeats for No. 2, with an Ernst & Young representative overseeing it. Picks 3 through 7 then fall in order of worst record. That makes the tiebreaker matter. Houston went 1-2 against Toronto in 2026, the first tiebreaker, so the Houston Comets can't fall below third, while the Toronto Tempo are guaranteed a pick no lower than fourth.

Two trades with lottery tickets attached

Two of the seven entries belong to teams that didn't earn them. The Washington Mystics own the Chicago Sky first-rounder from the Ariel Atkins trade in February 2025, and Chicago's 26-62 record makes it the third-best ticket in the drum. The Los Angeles Sparks have two cracks at it: their own pick and the one the Phoenix Mercury sent over with Monique Akoa Makani in the Aug. 2 deal for Kelsey Plum. Combined, that is a 3.6 percent shot at No. 1 for a franchise that still has no head coach.

The Seattle Storm sit fourth at 9.3 percent, and Portland, which went 17-27 in its first season back, holds 5.2 percent.

The coin flip at the top

Houston and Toronto arrive from very different places. The Comets are the relocated Connecticut Sun, and team president Jennifer Rizzotti, general manager Morgan Tuck and head coach Rachid Meziane are making the move with the franchise, per CBS Sports, which also notes Houston has plenty of cap space this winter. The team only unveiled its new logo at the end of October. Landing No. 1 would hand a rebranded franchise its first face before it plays a game in Texas.

Toronto had the kind of debut that tests a fan base's patience. The Tempo went 11-33 under Sandy Brondello, losing their last eight games and winning just one of their final 21, The Canadian Press reported. Attendance was strong and Marina Mabrey emerged, but a top pick would do more for the rebuild than any single free agent.

The JuJu question

Every lottery needs a prize, and the one everybody is circling has not technically entered the contest. USC's JuJu Watkins is considered the clear favorite to go No. 1 if she declares, CBS Sports reported, and ESPN's first mock draft slotted her to Houston. CBS lists Madison Booker of Texas and Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame among the other likely top picks.

Watkins tore her ACL on March 24, 2025, in the second round of the NCAA tournament and missed all of last season. Her return has been loud. She scored 21 points in 21 minutes in the season opener against UNLV on Nov. 2, her first game in 588 days, per USC Athletics. Then on Nov. 8 she put up 32 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals in a 118-40 rout of Utah State, per the AP.

The catch is that the injury bought her time. Because she missed a full season, she can return to USC for 2027-28, and she told CBS Sports she has not made up her mind. "I think I'll know when the time is right," Watkins said, adding that the focus is on winning a championship this season.

That leaves six front offices hoping for luck on Sunday and then waiting until spring to learn exactly what they won. The draft itself is set for Monday, April 12, 2027.

Our take

The lottery decides the order. Watkins decides the stakes. If she comes out, the team that wins Sunday's draw gets a franchise cornerstone and a marketing plan in one, and both Houston and Toronto need exactly that. If she stays, the No. 1 pick is still valuable, just not franchise-altering. Either way, two teams get a one-in-three shot at changing their future in 30 minutes of television. Expect a lot of nervous executives on camera and at least one city doing math on the 3.6 percent the Sparks are holding.

Sources: WNBA, CBS Sports, ESPN, The Canadian Press via TSN, USC Athletics and the AP via CBS Los Angeles. More WNBA coverage on Undrafted.

Photo Credit: WNBA.