Sparks Win 2012 WNBA Draft Lottery, Earn No. 1 Overall Pick

This marks the second time in franchise history that Los Angeles has earned the top overall choice. In 2008, the Sparks used their No. 1 selection to draft Candace Parkerfrom the Univ. of Tennessee.

“There are some excellent players in the 2012 Draft class, and we are very excited to get the No. 1 pick and have the opportunity to add a very talented player to the Sparks roster,” Sparks Vice President and General Manager Penny Toler said.

Los Angeles had 104 chances out of 1,000 to receive the first overall selection, the fewest of any of the four teams in the Lottery mix. This marks the second time in WNBA history that the team with the fewest chances to win has won the top pick. The other team to do so was the Phoenix Mercury, which won the Lottery held in advance of the 2007 WNBA Draft.

In addition to its No. 1 overall selection, Los Angeles holds four additional picks in the 2012 Draft, including three at the start of the second round: No. 13 overall (acquired in the Feb. 2011 trade that sent Andrea Riley to Tulsa), No. 15 (acquired in the May 2011 trade that send Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton to Chicago) and its original pick at No. 16. Rounding out the Sparks’ draft choices will be a third round selection at No. 28 overall.

The Chicago Sky, which had the second fewest chances to win the Lottery (178), will have the second pick in the Draft followed by the Minnesota Lynx. Minnesota, which, after winning the Lottery last year used the No. 1 overall pick to select Maya Moore and went on to earn its first WNBA championship, had the second best odds of winning the 2012 Lottery. The Lynx had a 27.6 percent chance of landing the top pick having obtained the first round selection of Washington (6-28) after trading forward/center Nicky Anosike to the Mystics two days prior to the 2011 Draft.

The Tulsa Shock, which had the most chances to win the Lottery (44.2%) will select fourth.

WNBA officials and a representative from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young conducted the Draft Lottery in New York City to establish the order of selection for the first four picks of the 2012 WNBA Draft. The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third round is determined by inverse order of the teams’ respective regular-season records.