When it comes to a draft lottery, the Minnesota Lynx have more luck than any other team in the state.
The Lynx were projected to get the fourth pick entering Friday’s WNBA Draft Lottery but walked out with the second overall pick. It will be the fourth time in franchise history that Minnesota has selected in the top two and the first time the since the Lynx selected Maya Moore with the first overall pick in 2011.
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston is projected to be the top pick in next year’s draft, which is held by the Indiana Fever, but who could the Lynx have their eye on ahead of next May’s draft?
Haley Jones
The Lynx will lose Sylvia Fowles to retirement and would love to find a replacement, but this year’s draft is dominated by guards at the top and led by the Stanford senior.
Jones was the most outstanding player in the 2021 NCAA tournament and is known for her playmaking skills. She averaged 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in 33 games last season and could be a successor to Kayla McBride at point guard.
Charisma Osborne
Another option at point guard, Osborne averaged a team-high 16.4 points per game during her junior season at UCLA. She posted a higher assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) than Jones (1.2) last season and has proven herself to be an elite asset on the defensive end.
Her 3-point percentage (.331) could use improvement but if the Lynx wanted to stray from the norm, this could be a solid selection.
Rickea Jackson
Jackson has dominated over the past two years at Mississippi State, averaging 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. She left the Bulldogs after a pair of coaching changes last winter but was the SEC’s leading scorer when she left the team last offseason.
Now at Tennessee, Jackson could have a similar impact in the Lynx frontcourt, which is missing a big piece after Fowles’ retirement.
Elizabeth Kitley
Today’s game is built on versatility but if the Lynx are looking for a true center to replace Fowles, Kitley could be the pick.
Kitley was the ACC Player of the Year at Virginia Tech last season, averaging 18.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. She also dropped a school-record 42 points in the Hokies’ win over Florida Gulf Coast in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
An elite rim defender, Kitley had nine games with four or more blocks and could be a perfect replacement in the middle of the Minnesota lineup.
