Last year, the Dallas Mavericks had just 1.8% chance of securing the top pick. The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery odds were in their favor, and they swooped in with Cooper Flagg, who also won the ROTY. This year, there wasn’t such a big change for the top spot. To secure the best odds, this year, the teams had tried their best tanking efforts. The Commissioner, Adam Silver, even levied fines of $500,000 on the Utah Jazz and $100,000 on the Indiana Pacers for “conduct detrimental to the league”. Only one of those two teams got the benefit, while the other got no shine from the lottery odds. Here is what transpired on May 10.

Full draft order after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery

The highly anticipated 2026 NBA Draft Lottery took place on Sunday, and the Washington Wizards had a 14% to win the odds and got their #1 pick. Even the Utah Jazz had the fourth-best odds and ended with the #2 selection. Memphis was outside of the top five and will now pick third, while the Chicago Bulls also jumped into the top four. Now, the rest of the “lottery teams” are positioned five through 14, in reverse order of their 2025-26 regular-season records. Similarly, the rest of the order of selection is determined by the reverse order of regular-season record.

 

First Round

  • 1. Washington
  • 2. Utah
  • 3. Memphis
  • 4. Chicago
  • 5. LA Clippers (from Indiana)
  • 6. Brooklyn
  • 7. Sacramento
  • 8. Atlanta (from New Orleans)
  • 9. Dallas
  • 10. Milwaukee
  • 11. Golden State
  • 12. Oklahoma City (from the LA Clippers)
  • 13. Miami
  • 14. Charlotte
  • 15. Chicago (from Portland)
  • 16. Phoenix (to Memphis from Orlando)
  • 17. Philadelphia (to Oklahoma City)
  • 18. Orlando (to Charlotte from Phoenix)
  • 19. Toronto
  • 20. Atlanta (to San Antonio)
  • 21. Minnesota (to Detroit)
  • 22. Houston (to Philadelphia from Oklahoma City)
  • 23. Cleveland (to Atlanta)
  • 24. New York
  • 25. Los Angeles Lakers
  • 26. Denver
  • 27. Boston
  • 28. Detroit (to Minnesota)
  • 29. San Antonio (to Cleveland from Atlanta)
  • 30. Oklahoma City (to Dallas from Washington and Philadelphia)

Second Round

  • 31. New York (from Washington via Oklahoma City and Houston)
  • 32. Indiana (to Memphis from Milwaukee)
  • 33. Brooklyn
  • 34. Sacramento
  • 35. San Antonio (from Utah via Minnesota)
  • 36. LA Clippers (from Memphis via Atlanta and Utah)
  • 37. Oklahoma City (from Dallas)
  • 38. Chicago (from New Orleans via Boston, Detroit, and Portland)
  • 39. Houston (from Chicago via Washington)
  • 40. Boston (from Milwaukee via Orlando)
  • 41. Miami (from Golden State via Charlotte, New York, Oklahoma City, and Atlanta)
  • 42. San Antonio (from Portland via New Orleans)
  • 43. Brooklyn (from the LA Clippers via Houston)
  • 44. San Antonio (from Miami via Indiana)
  • 45. Sacramento (from Charlotte via San Antonio, Atlanta, and New York)
  • 46. Orlando
  • 47. Phoenix (from Philadelphia via Houston and Oklahoma City)
  • 48. Dallas (from Phoenix via Washington)
  • 49. Denver (from Atlanta via Brooklyn and Golden State)
  • 50. Toronto
  • 51. Washington (from Minnesota via Detroit and New York)
  • 52. LA Clippers (from Cleveland)
  • 53. Houston
  • 54. Golden State (from the Los Angeles Lakers via Toronto, Miami, and Cleveland)
  • 55. New York
  • 56. Chicago (from Denver via Minnesota, Phoenix, Charlotte, and Phoenix)
  • 57. Atlanta (from Boston)
  • 58. New Orleans (from Detroit via New York, Brooklyn, Phoenix, Orlando, and the LA Clippers)
  • 59. Minnesota (from San Antonio via Indiana)
  • 60. Washington (from Oklahoma City via San Antonio and Miami) Related

Winners of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery

Clearly, the Washington Wizards are the winners of the 2026 NBA draft lottery. They had their former #1 pick, John Wall, as a representative, and he delivered for his former franchise. The plan of tanking and having the worst record in the NBA at 17-65 helped them secure the top spot. Even their recent roster planning seems to be a huge hit. They brought on some veterans in Trae Young and Anthony Davis, have some young pieces in Alexandre Sarr, Kyshawn George, and Tre Johnson.

Similarly, the Utah Jazz had to pay a fine, but it was all worth it in the end. They already have solid young pieces in Lauri Markkanen, Ace Bailey, and center Walker Kessler. Plus, they also added Jaren Jackson Jr., and pairing a #2 alongside would go a long way in bringing stability. The Memphis Grizzlies also jumped three spots from #6 to #3, and with the rumors of a Ja Morant trade, they can now find another cornerstone. Apart from them, the Chicago Bulls saw the biggest jump as they entered with the ninth-best odds to sneak into the top four.

The Indiana Pacers’ gamble for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery failed

Just like Jazz and Wizards, the Pacers made a trade to acquire a veteran and hoped the 2026 NBA draft lottery would be in their favor. Indiana acquired center Ivica Zubac by sending Bennedict Mathurin alongside their 2026 first-round pick with top-four protections. In theory, they had a 52% chance of remaining in the top four, and the plays were drawn so Zubac would pair with any top 4 star. But the gamble failed, and the president apologized to their fans.

“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” Kevin Pritchard, the Indiana Pacers president, posted after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck.” They lost a franchise-altering asset as the gamble on probability didn’t work in their favor, as the Clippers now hold their #5 pick, and the Pacers don’t hold any selection for the first round.

Similarly, even the Brooklyn Nets got the short stick in terms of draw. They had the same odds as the Wizards and the Pacers for the # 1 pick, but got the # 6. Even last year, they fell down and settled on #8. Even the Sacramento Kings, who were tied with the Utah Jazz for the worst record in the Western Conference in the 2025-26 season, had contrasting results. The Jazz got #2, while the Kings will now select #7. But another team that will miss out completely from the first round is the New Orleans Pelicans.

They made this decision last year when they traded their first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks to acquire Derik Queen (# 13 pick, 2025 NBA Draft). Interestingly, they also controlled the Pacers #5 pick, which now belongs to the Clippers. So, there is a scenario where the Pelicans would’ve had the No. 5 and No. 8 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

The potential #1 pick for the 2026 NBA Draft

The Wizards now control the board with the #1 pick, for the first time since 2010, when they selected John Wall. The Kentucky guard is even today revered in the franchise history, and they have a chance again to select a player with a similar hype. For some time, the consensus #1 remains to be BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. And the Wizards won’t trade him, as he has the tools of a really solid wing player.

The 19-year-old led the nation at 25.5 points per game, and with a size advantage, he is often able to create his own shots. He played against some top defenses and still finished at 51.0% from the field. His 33.1% from three remains to be desired, but with veterans around him, the development path looks great on paper.

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