With a pair from Connecticut likely on the board in the 2019 draft, the New York Liberty will find out their position for a big draft on August 28.
The New York Liberty will look to get the biggest jackpot on Aug. 28.
The WNBA announced that it will hold its lottery for the 2019 draft that night in Secaucus, NJ, with the Liberty one of four teams set to partake. The lottery will be held during halftime of Game 2 of the league’s playoff semifinals (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Atlanta Dream, the league’s second-ranked team will take on a to-be-determined opponent.
WNBA Draft Lottery odds factor in records for its non-playoff teams from the past two seasons. As a result, the Liberty, who finished 7-27 in 2018 after earning the Eastern Conference’s best record at 22-12 the year before, will have the fourth best odds at 10.4 percent.
| Team | 2017-18 Record | #1 Odds |
| Indiana Fever | 15-53 | 44.2% |
| Las Vegas Aces | 22-46 | 27.6% |
| Chicago Sky | 25-43 | 17.8% |
| New York Liberty | 29-39 | 10.4% |
The remaining eight teams, those who will be partaking in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs, will have their draft spot predetermined by their own 2017-18 records. The remaining rounds will be sorted by 2018 records alone.
Notable prospects expected to available in the 2019 WNBA Draft include Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu, and Mississippi State center Teira McCowan, while perennial powerhouse Connecticut is set to feature forward Napheesa Collier and guard Katie Lou Samuelson. New Zealand-born Eziyoda Magbegor is expected to be the top international prospect.
This will be the Liberty’s first time partaking in the WNBA Draft Lottery since 2013 when the lottery factored in records exclusively from the previous season. Though the Liberty had the third-best odds that season, they dropped to the fourth overall selection, where they took Alyssa Thomas out of Maryland. Thomas was subsequently traded to the Connecticut Sun, along with Kelsey Bone and the following season’s first round pick (also a lottery selection) in exchange for superstar Tina Charles.
The 2019 WNBA Draft is slated to take place next April.
