We traced every No. 1 pick, and the 120 players taken second through fifth, through the league's own draft, statistics and awards records on stats.wnba.com. The 1997 draft also included an initial allocation of 16 players and a 16-player Elite Draft, which the Utah Starzz opened with Dena Head; we count only the regular draft, which the Houston Comets opened with Tina Thompson.
How WNBA No. 1 picks have done
The gap between the first pick and the next four shows on every measure: 70 percent of No. 1 picks have made an All-WNBA team, against 24 percent of picks 2 to 5; 83 percent became All-Stars, against 42 percent; and 57 percent won a title, against 34 percent.
The MVP award is the clearest case. No. 1 picks have won 15 of the league's 29, three times as many as the 120 players taken second through fifth combined. The other nine went to three stars allocated to teams in 1997, Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie, and to Jonquel Jones, a No. 6 pick, in 2021. Since 2008, No. 1 picks have won 13 of the 18; our history of every WNBA MVP shows how often those seasons ended with a title.
Seventeen of the 30 have won at least one championship, 43 titles between them, and 21 of the 29 champions since 1997 had a No. 1 pick on the roster. Thompson in 1997 and Maya Moore, with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011, won it as rookies.
WNBA number one pick and Rookie of the Year
The No. 1 pick has won Rookie of the Year 16 times in the 29 seasons since the award began in 1998, 55 percent, including five straight from 2008 to 2012 and four from 2022 to 2025. That run ended this season, when Minnesota's Olivia Miles, the No. 2 pick, won it unanimously with a rookie-record 790 points. Picks 2 to 5 have won it seven times and later picks six. When the No. 1 pick missed, it went to (draft slot in parentheses):
- 1998: Tracy Reid (No. 7) over Margo Dydek
- 2000: Betty Lennox (No. 6) over Ann Wauters
- 2001: Jackie Stiles (No. 4) over Lauren Jackson
- 2002: Tamika Catchings (No. 3 in 2001) over Sue Bird
- 2003: Cheryl Ford (No. 3) over LaToya Thomas
- 2005: Temeka Johnson (No. 6) over Janel McCarville
- 2007: Armintie Price (No. 3) over Lindsey Harding
- 2013: Elena Delle Donne (No. 2) over Brittney Griner
- 2017: Allisha Gray (No. 4) over Kelsey Plum
- 2019: Napheesa Collier (No. 6) over Jackie Young
- 2020: Crystal Dangerfield (No. 16) over Sabrina Ionescu, who played three games
- 2021: Michaela Onyenwere (No. 6) over Charli Collier
- 2026: Olivia Miles (No. 2) over Azzi Fudd
Every WNBA No. 1 pick: rookie season and career honors
All 30 No. 1 picks:
| Draft | No. 1 pick | Drafted by | Rookie games | Rookie points | Team record before, rookie year | Career honors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Tina Thompson | Houston Comets | 28 | 370 | None, 18-10 | All-Star, 8 All-WNBA, 4 titles |
| 1998 | Margo Dydek | Utah Starzz | 30 | 386 | 7-21, 8-22 | All-Star |
| 1999 | Chamique Holdsclaw | Washington Mystics | 31 | 525 | 3-27, 12-20 | ROY, All-Star, 3 All-WNBA |
| 2000 | Ann Wauters | Cleveland Rockers | 32 | 199 | 7-25, 17-15 | All-Star, 1 title |
| 2001 | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm | 29 | 442 | 6-26, 10-22 | All-Star, 8 All-WNBA, 3 MVP, 2 titles |
| 2002 | Sue Bird | Seattle Storm | 32 | 461 | 10-22, 17-15 | All-Star, 8 All-WNBA, 4 titles |
| 2003 | LaToya Thomas | Cleveland Rockers | 32 | 345 | 10-22, 17-17 | None |
| 2004 | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | 34 | 578 | 8-26, 17-17 | ROY, All-Star, 14 All-WNBA, 1 MVP, 3 titles |
| 2005 | Janel McCarville | Charlotte Sting | 28 | 50 | 16-18, 6-28 | 1 title |
| 2006 | Seimone Augustus | Minnesota Lynx | 34 | 744 | 14-20, 10-24 | ROY, All-Star, 6 All-WNBA, 4 titles |
| 2007 | Lindsey Harding | Phoenix Mercury (played for Minnesota) | 20 | 233 | 18-16, 23-11 | None |
| 2008 | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks | 33 | 610 | 10-24, 20-14 | ROY, All-Star, 10 All-WNBA, 2 MVP, 3 titles |
| 2009 | Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | 34 | 435 | 4-30, 18-16 | ROY, All-Star, 6 All-WNBA |
| 2010 | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | 34 | 528 | 16-18, 17-17 | ROY, All-Star, 9 All-WNBA, 1 MVP |
| 2011 | Maya Moore | Minnesota Lynx | 34 | 449 | 13-21, 27-7 | ROY, All-Star, 7 All-WNBA, 1 MVP, 4 titles |
| 2012 | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks | 33 | 462 | 15-19, 24-10 | ROY, All-Star, 8 All-WNBA, 1 MVP, 1 title |
| 2013 | Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | 27 | 341 | 7-27, 19-15 | All-Star, 6 All-WNBA, 1 title |
| 2014 | Chiney Ogwumike | Connecticut Sun | 31 | 480 | 10-24, 13-21 | ROY, All-Star |
| 2015 | Jewell Loyd | Seattle Storm | 34 | 364 | 12-22, 10-24 | ROY, All-Star, 3 All-WNBA, 3 titles |
| 2016 | Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | 34 | 621 | 10-24, 16-18 | ROY, All-Star, 7 All-WNBA, 2 MVP, 3 titles |
| 2017 | Kelsey Plum | San Antonio Stars | 31 | 265 | 7-27, 8-26 | All-Star, 1 All-WNBA, 2 titles |
| 2018 | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | 33 | 682 | 8-26, 14-20 | ROY, All-Star, 6 All-WNBA, 4 MVP, 3 titles |
| 2019 | Jackie Young | Las Vegas Aces | 34 | 225 | 14-20, 21-13 | All-Star, 2 All-WNBA, 3 titles |
| 2020 | Sabrina Ionescu | New York Liberty | 3 | 55 | 10-24, 2-20 | All-Star, 4 All-WNBA, 1 title |
| 2021 | Charli Collier | Dallas Wings | 28 | 96 | 8-14, 14-18 | None |
| 2022 | Rhyne Howard | Atlanta Dream | 34 | 552 | 8-24, 14-22 | ROY, All-Star |
| 2023 | Aliyah Boston | Indiana Fever | 40 | 578 | 5-31, 13-27 | ROY, All-Star, 1 All-WNBA |
| 2024 | Caitlin Clark | Indiana Fever | 40 | 769 | 13-27, 20-20 | ROY, All-Star, 1 All-WNBA |
| 2025 | Paige Bueckers | Dallas Wings | 36 | 692 | 9-31, 10-34 | ROY, All-Star, 1 All-WNBA |
| 2026 | Azzi Fudd | Dallas Wings | 30 | 393 | 10-34, 27-17 | None |
Caitlin Clark's 769 points in 2024 are the most by a No. 1 pick as a rookie, and Seimone Augustus's 21.9 per game in 2006 remain the best rookie average in league history. At the other end, Janel McCarville scored 50 points in 28 games in 2005, and Sabrina Ionescu played three games in 2020.
How the team with the No. 1 pick did in the rookie season
None of the 29 teams that made the No. 1 pick from 1998 to 2026 had reached the playoffs the season before. They won 29.4 percent of their games that season and 44.7 percent in the No. 1 pick's rookie year; 25 of the 29 improved, and 14 made the playoffs.
The biggest jumps came in Atlanta, from a 4-30 first season as an expansion team to 18-16 with Angel McCoughtry in 2009, and in Minnesota, from 13-21 to 27-7 and the title with Moore. This year's Dallas Wings are third, from 10-34 to 27-17. Four got worse: Charlotte in 2005, Minnesota in 2006, the Seattle Storm in 2015 and the New York Liberty, 2-20 in 2020.
Phoenix drafted Lindsey Harding in 2007, but she played her rookie season for Minnesota, 10-24 in both years. The Mercury, counted here as the drafting team, improved from 18-16 to 23-11 and won the title without her.
Best WNBA No. 1 picks
Measured by the league's top honors, a few stand apart:
- A'ja Wilson (2018): four MVPs, the league record, and three titles.
- Lauren Jackson (2001): three MVPs and two titles.
- Diana Taurasi (2004): 14 All-WNBA teams, the most in league history, and three titles.
- Candace Parker (2008): the only player named MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season, and three titles with three teams.
- Breanna Stewart (2016): two MVPs and three titles with two teams.
- Tina Thompson, Sue Bird, Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore: four titles each, the most of any No. 1 pick.
Five were never All-Stars: LaToya Thomas (2003), McCarville (2005), Harding (2007), Charli Collier (2021) and this year's pick, Azzi Fudd, after one season. McCarville still won a title, with Minnesota in 2013.
No. 1 picks against picks 2 to 5
All 150 players taken in the top five since 1997 have played in the WNBA, and on every measure the steepest drop comes after the first pick. No. 2 picks have produced three MVPs, Yolanda Griffith, Sylvia Fowles and Elena Delle Donne, and picks 3 to 5 one, Tamika Catchings. Rookie scoring falls with each slot.
| Pick | Rookie of the Year | All-Star | All-WNBA | MVPs (awards) | Won a title | Rookie ppg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | 16/29 | 25/30 | 21/30 | 8 (15) | 17/30 | 13.9 |
| No. 2 | 2/29 | 14/30 | 11/30 | 3 (4) | 12/30 | 10.5 |
| No. 3 | 3/29 | 11/30 | 7/30 | 1 (1) | 10/30 | 9.0 |
| No. 4 | 2/29 | 14/30 | 7/30 | 0 (0) | 9/30 | 8.6 |
| No. 5 | 0/29 | 11/30 | 4/30 | 0 (0) | 10/30 | 6.3 |
| Nos. 2-5 | 7/116 | 50/120 | 29/120 | 4 (5) | 41/120 | 8.6 |
2026 WNBA No. 1 pick: Azzi Fudd's rookie season
The Dallas Wings took Fudd, a UConn guard, first in April (WNBA.com's 2026 draft board), a year after using the top pick on another UConn guard, Paige Bueckers. Fudd played 30 games and scored 393 points, 13.1 per game, before season-ending surgery on her right knee, announced on August 19.
Fans ranked her fourth among guards in All-Star voting, but she finished 10th once player and media votes were added and was not among the 22 All-Stars. Miles, the next pick, won Rookie of the Year, and the All-Rookie team had not been announced as of September 30.
Dallas, 10-34 last season, went 27-17, seventh in the final 2026 standings, and made the playoffs for the first time since 2023. As of September 30 they trailed their first-round series against the Golden State Valkyries 1-0, after losing Game 1 on the road, 104-80, with Game 2 that night in Dallas. Our WNBA playoff bracket follows the series, and the 2026 WNBA schedule has every regular-season result.
WNBA No. 1 draft picks: frequently asked questions
Who was the first No. 1 pick in WNBA history? Tina Thompson, taken by the Houston Comets in 1997; she won the title as a rookie. Dena Head went first in that year's separate Elite Draft.
How many WNBA No. 1 picks have won Rookie of the Year? Sixteen of the 29 since the award began in 1998, most recently Paige Bueckers in 2025.
Which WNBA No. 1 pick has won the most MVP awards? A'ja Wilson, with four, the most by any player: 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025.
Who was the 2026 WNBA No. 1 pick? Azzi Fudd, a UConn guard taken by the Dallas Wings. She averaged 13.1 points in 30 games before knee surgery ended her season.
How this was built: draft order, season statistics and the All-WNBA, MVP and Rookie of the Year awards come from the league's stats site, stats.wnba.com, checked against WNBA.com's lists of MVPs, Rookies of the Year and All-WNBA teams. All-Star means named at least once, from the league's All-Star box scores and WNBA.com, checked against Wikipedia. Titles count the team a player ended the season with; titles and team records come from every game from 1997 to September 29, 2026, and records match the official standings. The 1997 allocation and Elite Draft are left out.