Indiana Fever get No. 1 pick in WNBA Draft for second straight year

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WISH) – The Indiana Fever will once again hold the first overall selection in the WNBA Draft after winning the draft lottery on Sunday.

Last season, the Fever drafted Aliyah Boston with the franchise’s first-ever No. 1 pick, and Boston went on to become the league’s Rookie of the Year.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark would be the consensus favorite for the No. 1 pick if she declares for the 2024 WNBA Draft.

The sharpshooter made 140 three-pointers last season alone, racking up 1,055 total points. Clark dominated for the Hawkeyes on their way to the national championship, which they ultimately lost to LSU, 102-85.

Clark is joined by UConn’s Paige Bueckers and LSU’s Angel Reese as the top three draft prospects, but all three players have the option to return to school for one more season with one more year of eligibility.

Fever General Manager Lin Dunn appeared overjoyed on the broadcast of the draft lottery.

“This is tremendous news for our franchise to receive another No. 1 overall pick,” said Dunn.

The Fever had the best odds to receive the top pick at 44.2%.

Earlier in the offseason, Dunn didn’t shy away from talking about the possibility of adding Clark to the Fever roster.

“If we were to draft Caitlin Clark with the first pick, there’s no doubt in my mind there’ll be a lot of people in Iowa moving to Indiana, moving to Indianapolis, or they’d be figuring out how to come back and forth so it’s great,” Dunn said at the end of the 2023 season.

The Fever ended the season with a 13-21 record, more wins than the previous two seasons combined (11).

The 2024 draft lottery odds were decided based on the combined record of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, so even though Indiana did not finish in last place last season, the record from 2022 boosted Indiana’s odds for the top pick.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Fever’s Aliyah Boston unanimous choice as WNBA Rookie of the Year
• Fever end season eyeing Caitlin Clark

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