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After a difficult season in 2011, the Sparks will have their first No. 1 pick since 2008, when they selected Candace Parker.
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Los Angeles Sparks Win Top Pick In 2012 WNBA Draft
-- Sparks Become Second Team in League History to Win First Pick Despite Smallest Odds --
-- Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx Round Out Top Three Picks --
-- Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx Round Out Top Three Picks --
NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2011 � The Los Angeles Sparks won the eleventh annual WNBA Draft Lottery and earned the top pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft, the league announced today.
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.
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.
The following are results of the 2012 WNBA Draft Lottery:
*Updated: Jan. 2, 2012
| 2012 WNBA DRAFT LOTTERY ORDER | |||
| Team | 2011 Record | Chances (out of 1,000) | |
| 1. | Los Angeles | 15-19 | 104 |
| 2. | Seattle from Chicago (S. Cash, L. Willingham -- 1/2/12) | 21-13 | 178 |
| 3. | Minnesota (from Washington*) | 6-28* | 276 |
| 4. | Tulsa | 3-31 | 442 |
The following is the remaining order for the first round as determined by overall records from 2011:
| REMAINING ORDER FOR FIRST ROUND | ||
| Team | 2011 Record | |
| 5. | San Antonio | 18-16 |
| 6. | Phoenix | 19-15 |
| 7. | New York | 19-15 |
| 8. | Washington from Atlanta (L. Harding/T Phillips, K. Miller � 4/11/11) | 20-14 |
| 9. | Connecticut | 21-13 |
| 10. | Washington from Seattle (K. Smith, J. Monroe/J. Thomas � 4/29/11) | 21-13 |
| 11. | Indiana | 21-13 |
| 12. | Minnesota | 27-7 |