:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/7486827/20120617_jla_sz2_326.jpg)
The 2013 WNBA Draft Lottery date and time has been announced, and it will occur on Sept. 26 during the 6 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter on ESPN. The Atlanta Dream have not clinched a playoff spot, but it would take a major collapse of losing their final three games coupled with the New York Liberty winning their final five games. It is highly unlikely that they will be part of the lottery.
The WNBA Draft Lottery is similar to the NBA Draft Lottery where the teams that do not make the playoffs get a chance at the top picks:
Fourteen balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in a lottery machine and mixed. Four balls will then be drawn to the top to determine a four-digit combination. The team that has been assigned that four-ball combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The four balls will then be placed back into the machine and the process will be repeated to determine the second and third picks.
The team that does not win one of the top three picks will be slotted fourth. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. One thousand of those combinations will be assigned to the four non-playoff teams based on their order of finish in the 2012 regular season. The remaining combination will be unassigned. If the one unassigned combination is drawn, the balls will be placed back into the machine and the process will be repeated until an assigned combination is drawn.
The WNBA Draft is scheduled for April of 2013.
For more on the WNBA visit Swish Appeal.