How to watch the 2026 WNBA Draft for free: Time, draft order

With less than a month until the 2026 WNBA season tips off, it’s time for the WNBA Draft.

After drafting Paige Bueckers first overall last season, the rebuilding Dallas Wings will once again select first overall tonight after finishing last and winning the draft lottery.

Tonight’s draft also marks the first 45-pick draft for the WNBA as the league is expanding to 15 teams.

Both the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo will make their first-ever WNBA draft selections tonight following the April 3 expansion draft, where each team selected 11 players from other WNBA rosters to create the inaugural lineups.

15 prospects, including projected first-overall selection Azzi Fudd, were invited to attend tonight’s draft in New York City.

When is the 2026 WNBA Draft?

The 2026 WNBA Draft is tonight, April 13, at 7 p.m. ET.

How to watch the 2026 WNBA draft for free

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the WNBA Draft for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching basketball live for free — its five-day free trial includes ESPN (plus every other channel you’ll need for the NBA season, including local channels). When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $49.99/month and gain access to over 90 live channels.

If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription, you can try a Sling Orange Day Pass. Priced at $4.99, you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including ESPN. Sling also offers weekend and week-long passes for its Orange plan, which offer between three and seven days of access.

WNBA Draft 2026 top prospects

As noted above, 15 prospects were invited to tonight’s draft. UConn guard Azzi Fudd, UCLA center Lauren Betts and TCU’s Olivia Miles are among the names projected to be selected high up in the draft. Here are all 15 players set to attend the draft:

• Nell Angloma (France)
• Lauren Betts (UCLA)
• Angela Dugalić (UCLA)
• Awa Fam Thiam (Spain)
• Azzi Fudd (Connecticut)
• Gabriela Jaquez (UCLA)
• Flau’jae Johnson (LSU)
• Raven Johnson (South Carolina)
• Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA)
• Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina)
• Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss)
• Olivia Miles (TCU)
• Madina Okot (South Carolina/Kenya)
• Kiki Rice (UCLA)
• Marta Suárez (Spain)

2026 WNBA draft order

The WNBA draft has three rounds with 45 total draft picks.

First round:

1. Dallas Wings
2. Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago Sky)
3. Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles Sparks)
4. Washington Mystics
5. Chicago Sky (from Connecticut Sun)
6. Toronto Tempo
7. Portland Fire
8. Golden State Valkyries
9. Washington Mystics (from Seattle Storm)
10. Indiana Fever
11. Washington Mystics (from New York Liberty via Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun)
12. Connecticut Sun (from Phoenix Mercury via Chicago Sky)
13. Atlanta Dream
14. Seattle Storm (from Las Vegas Aces)
15. Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota Lynx via Washington Mystics)

Second round:

16. Seattle Storm
17. Portland Fire (from Chicago Sky)
18. Connecticut Sun
19. Washington Mystics
20. Los Angeles Sparks
21. Chicago Sky (from Portland Fire)
22. Toronto Tempo
23. Golden State Valkyries
24. Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle Storm)
25. Indiana Fever
26. Toronto Tempo (from New York Liberty via Chicago Sky)
27. Phoenix Mercury
28. Atlanta Dream
29. Las Vegas Aces
30. Washington Mystics (from Minnesota Lynx)

Third round:

31. Dallas Wings
32. Chicago Sky
33. Connecticut Sun
34. Washington Mystics
35. Los Angeles Sparks
36. Toronto Tempo
37. Portland Fire
38. Golden State Valkyries
39. Seattle Storm
40. Indiana Fever
41. New York Liberty
42. Phoenix Mercury
43. Atlanta Dream
44. Las Vegas Aces
45. Minnesota Lynx

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.