WNBA Final Day: Seeds, Watkins Draft Lottery at Stake — SkimNews
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- Minnesota Lynx locked the No. 1 seed and a first-round date with the New York Liberty — a rematch of the 2024 Finals — while seeds 2, 3, 5 and 6 remain up for grabs on Thursday's five-game slate.
- Golden State Valkyries hold a one-game lead over the Las Vegas Aces for the No. 2 seed but don't control the tiebreaker after losing the season series 3-0, with the Valkyries listed as 11.5-point favorites over the Los Angeles Sparks.
- Indiana Fever control their own path to the No. 5 seed if they beat the Lynx, but a loss combined with a Washington Mystics win over the Sky would flip the seed via the head-to-head tiebreaker Washington seized over the weekend.
- The Connecticut Sun vs. Toronto Tempo matchup is framed as arguably the most consequential regular-season game ever, with the loser gaining the best odds at the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft, widely referred to as the 'JuJu Watkins draft.'
- The Sun went 10-33 in their final Uncasville season before relocating to Houston in 2027, while the Tempo went 2-23 after a 9-9 start due to injuries — and as an expansion team, Toronto's lottery odds are based only on this season's record rather than the two-year aggregate used for established clubs.
- If the Tempo win, the Sun finish 21-67 (.239) with clearly superior lottery odds; if the Sun win, both clubs land at .250 and Toronto holds the head-to-head tiebreaker it has already won, potentially splitting the odds evenly.
- The WNBA has not yet announced updated lottery odds for its expanded seven-team field (up from five last year), leaving the exact advantage from finishing worst unclear but expected to be substantial.
Why it matters: Thursday's Sun-Tempo game carries franchise-altering stakes: the loser gets the best odds at a potential No. 1 pick in a draft class headlined by JuJu Watkins, described in the piece as a talent capable of transforming a franchise on and off the court. Meanwhile, four of eight playoff seeds remain open with the Lynx-Liberty first-round series — a 2024 Finals rematch — as the only matchup locked in.
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