Who’s the greatest No. 1 pick in WNBA history? Our ranking delivers answers

On Monday, April 13, the WNBA will hold its 30th annual draft where the biggest stars from the college ranks and overseas leagues will be selected. Back in 1997, Tina Thompson was the first-ever WNBA Draft pick, and one that worked out quite well for the Houston Comets as she helped them win four championships. More recently, three consecutive first round picks by the Las Vegas Aces — Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young — helped the franchise capture multiple league titles too.

In the mix to hear their name called first on Monday night is UCLA center Lauren Betts, TCU point guard Olivia Miles, UConn sharpshooter Azzi Fudd, and 19-year-old Awa Fam from Spain. With 29 drafts in the books for the WNBA, it’s time to reflect on some league history and answer the question, who is the greatest No. 1 pick of all-time?

To answer that, we came up with a formula that put point valuations on accomplishments the player achieved with the team that drafted them. League MVP awards and championships weighed the heaviest, followed by Finals appearances and All-WNBA selections. Other awards, leading the league in a stat — like scoring or blocks — and all-star selections were also weighted.

We’re only ranking 25 players here because it’s too early to really evaluate these four recent No. 1 picks: Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream (2022) Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever (2023) Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever (2024) Paige Buckers, Dallas Wings (2025) All of these players have already made All-Star teams and spent time with Team USA, but it’s hard to make a judgement on their careers and properly rank them on this list with limited data points. With that, let’s jump into the rankings.