In a potentially franchise altering turn of events, the Indiana Fever have secured the top pick in the 2023 WNBA draft.
Indiana, who were making their 6th consecutive appearance in the draft lottery, have limped through the past 6 campaigns compiling a dismal 45-147 record during that span. In 2022 the club won only 5 contests which was a franchise low, culminated by an 18 game losing streak which is good for the 2nd longest in WNBA history.
Despite their recent on-court futility, this will be the first time in franchise history that the Fever will select 1st overall on draft day. Indiana entered the draft lottery with a 44.2% chance of earning the top draft selection and, perhaps mercifully, the ping pong balls fell their way Friday.
   At stake were the draft rights to Aliyah Boston, who is universally touted as the top player available in the 2023 draft class. Boston helped guide South Carolina to the NCAA championship in 2022, and won virtually every individual award possible at the college level in the process.
A 6’5” PF/C, the 20 year old is largely viewed as a potential All-WNBA level talent, something the Fever are in desperate need of at the moment. If Boston does indeed end up with the Fever, she would join last year’s 2nd overall selection NaLyssa Smith, Kelsey Mitchell, and Boston’s former teammate Destanni Henderson as part of an extremely young core.
Earlier in the day the Fever also introduced their new head coach Christie Sides as they attempt to usher in a new era in Indianapolis. Sides has spent two decades in various assistant coaching positions and has previously worked with the Fever organization from 2017-2019.
Rounding out the top three were the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream who will pick number 2 & 3 respectively on draft day. While there are certainly some intriguing prospects amongst the draft eligible players, including Maryland’s Diamond Miller and Stanford’s Haley Jones, Boston is undoubtedly the top prize.
The 2023 WNBA draft will take place on Monday April 10th, with the rest of the first round as follows:
| 1 | Indiana Fever |
| 2 | Minnesota Lynx |
| 3 | Atlanta Dream |
| 4 | Washington Mystics (via Los Angeles) |
| 5 | Chicago Sky (via Phoenix) |
| 6 | New York Liberty |
| 7 | Indiana Fever (via Dallas) |
| 8 | Atlanta Dream (via Washington) |
| 9 | Seattle Storm |
| 10 | Connecticut Sun |
| 11 | Dallas Wings (via Chicago) |
| 12 | Minnesota Lynx (via Las Vegas) |
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Gamecock Central. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.