The Chicago Sky will have the No. 3 pick in a loaded 2025 WNBA draft after Sunday’s lottery drawing.
The Dallas Wings won the jackpot in the lottery, landing the No. 1 pick that they’re widely expected to use on Connecticut superstar Paige Bueckers. The Los Angeles Sparks got the No. 2 pick, and the Washington Mystics will pick fourth.
The Sky will have a wealth of options to choose from as they aim to build out their backcourt to complement Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. General manager Jeff Pagliocca said they will target a wing who is a high-efficiency shooter with the third pick, while length will be a key factor for both the No. 3 and No. 10 pick, which the Sky also own.
Pagliocca said he doesn’t plan to take a guard under 6 feet and described an ideal wing as measuring at least 6-1 and ideally up to 6-3. Although the Sky also need a primary facilitator to initiate the offense, Pagliocca said that won’t be the priority for this draft.
“The top priority is going to be shooting,” he said. “Obviously, if you can get it with length or a player that can play at both ends of the floor — defend, make plays for other people — that’s nice.
“But it takes a little bit to adjust to our league. In all reality, we’re going to be looking for wings when we can get them.”
Next year’s draft class is shrouded in uncertainty as many of the top college players — including Bueckers — have another year of eligibility. Additionally, some top players such as UConn guard Azzi Fudd and Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles are returning from injuries, forcing WNBA teams to balance those players’ physical viability against their potential.
Pagliocca said he will hit the road soon with new coach Tyler Marsh to begin the scouting process, which will include catching as many games in person as possible.
“These are daily conversations that we’ve been having about players that we like, about where we’re going to be out on the road, once we hire our assistants where we’re going to be sending them,” Pagliocca said. “He’s extremely engaged in this aspect of the scouting. We see the game in a similar fashion, so we like the same types of players.”
Sunday’s lottery results also closed the books on the Sky’s debilitating 2023 trade with the Wings for Marina Mabrey. Because the Wings landed a higher pick, the Sky won’t have to swap their 2025 first-rounder with the Wings as part of that deal.
The Mabrey trade was executed by former coach/general manager James Wade, who left the Sky five months later for an assistant coaching job with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. Wade gambled away the bulk of the Sky’s short-term draft stock: a first-round pick in 2023, first- and third-rounders in 2024 and the 2025 pick swap as well as the rights to Leonie Fiebich.
Pagliocca rebuilt the Sky’s 2024 and 2025 draft stock through a series of trades last season, which included sending Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury for the No. 3 pick in 2024, used to select Cardoso, and sending Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun at the Olympic break to add what turned out to be the No. 10 pick in 2025. The Sky also drafted Reese last year with the No. 7 pick
With their draft picks set, the Sky front office now will turn its attention to setting a protected list for the expansion draft (Dec. 6) and to the onset of free agency (Jan. 21).
