The NBA Draft Lottery has long been among the most consequential events on the year-long basketball calendar. It’s a drawing that has largely shaped the history of the NBA, determining the destinations of some of the most pivotal talents to ever play in the league.
While the lottery is an event that can bring great joy and prosperity to a lucky franchise, it’s also one that can rip the hearts out of a front office that had its sights set on a player who is now unattainable. Who can forget Jerry West’s face after falling a pick short of being able to draft LeBron James in 2003? Or the elation in Chicago when the Bulls improbably won the 2008 lottery with the second-lowest odds to land hometown superstar Derrick Rose?
This season, the top of the draft is as strong as ever. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa is the current frontrunner to be selected with the first overall pick, but Kansas’ Darryn Peterson remains a strong candidate after spending most of his lone collegiate season as the player penciled in at the top of the draft. You can’t forget Duke’s Cameron Boozer, who swept National Player of the Year honors and led the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight, either. Or Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., who emerged as one of the top freshman guards in recent history under John Calipari.
Now that the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery is complete, let’s break down the winners and losers of the day.
2026 NBA Draft Lottery Results
| NUMBER | TEAM |
| No. 1 | Washington Wizards |
| No. 2 | Utah Jazz |
| No. 3 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| No. 4 | Chicago Bulls |
| No. 5 | Los Angeles Clippers (via Pacers) |
| No. 6 | Brooklyn Nets |
| No. 7 | Sacramento Kings |
| No. 8 | Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans) |
| No. 9 | Dallas Mavericks |
| No. 10 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| No. 11 | Golden State Warriors |
| No. 12 | Oklahoma City Thunder (via Clippers) |
| No. 13 | Miami Heat |
| No. 14 | Charlotte Hornets |
Winners
Los Angeles Clippers
In return for sending Ivica Zubac to Indiana at the trade deadline, the Clippers were to either receive the rights to the Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick (if it landed outside the top four) or a 2031 unprotected first-round pick. Luck was certainly on LA’s side on Sunday, as Indiana fell to fifth and, as a result, will have to forfeit their pick to the Clippers after finishing a franchise-worst 19-63 this season.
Please see the latest update below in red 👀 pic.twitter.com/yGANBY3ZsD
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) May 10, 2026
Players like Acuff Jr. and Illinois’ Keaton Wagler are some of the names in play for the Clippers here, with an outside shot at North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson if he somehow makes it past Chicago at No. 4 overall.
Chicago Bulls
Speaking of Chicago, the Bulls must have had a little bit of that magic from the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery in their back pocket on Sunday. They somehow landed the No. 4 overall pick despite entering with the ninth-best odds, which puts them in position to select a player in Wilson that would be the No. 1 overall pick in a handful of recent draft classes.
We’ll take it 🙏🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/xu1niJ5rsp
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) May 10, 2026
A player like Wilson is exactly the piece the Bulls need to get out of purgatory toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference and would be a great addition to a burgeoning young lineup headlined by rising star Matas Buzelis. If Wilson isn’t to their fancy, Acuff Jr. and Wagler certainly provide compelling counterarguments.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards entered the NBA Draft Lottery with the best odds to land the top pick and were rewarded by the basketball gods with the No. 1 overall pick, giving them the chance to make their own choice between Dybantsa and Peterson.
ABSOLUTE. CINEMA. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/lcozgtQQy1
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 10, 2026
Former Washington Wizards No. 1 overall pick, John Wall, was on hand as the franchise representative, 15 years after Washington earned the right to select him in the 2010 NBA Draft. Dybantsa is the one who will sit atop the mocks until draft day, most likely, but you have to imagine that Utah may put an offer on the table, considering the state’s already massive investment in Dybantsa from his prep days through his time at BYU.
Losers
Indiana Pacers
Simply put, today was a catastrophic day for the Pacers as a franchise. Their favorable chances to land a top-four pick and select a potentially franchise-altering player ended in disaster, and, as mentioned above, they had to cede their top-four protected 2026 first-round pick to the Clippers instead of a 2031 pick that will almost certainly be much less favorable.
I'm really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember - this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.
— Kevin Pritchard (@PacersKev) May 10, 2026
The fact that the worst season in franchise history, a season that happened in large part because of one of the most devastating injuries to a superstar in NBA history, ended with nothing to show for it at all is a legitimate nightmare result that will change the direction of this franchise. Zubac is a good player, but that’s a trade that is on the way to aging historically bad.
Utah Jazz
Don’t get me wrong, Sunday was still by and large a very successful day for the Utah Jazz. They earned the No. 2 overall pick, which will likely give them the chance to draft one of the highest-touted guard prospects in recent memory in Peterson.
got the right combo 😎 pic.twitter.com/DK4v5sIQtv
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 10, 2026
However, the results of Sunday’s NBA Draft Lottery were a loss for the franchise (and owner Ryan Smith) because of the deep connections that projected No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa has to the state of Utah. Dybantsa moved from his hometown of Brockton, Mass., to play his final year of prep hoops at Utah Prep in Hurricane, before signing a record NIL deal (largely funded by Smith) to play his lone collegiate season at BYU.
That prophecy was supposed to end with Utah getting the top pick and Dybantsa being drafted by the state he’s adopted as home, but Sunday’s results mean it either will not happen at all or will cost the Jazz a considerable amount.
Sacramento Kings/Brooklyn Nets
The Kings didn’t quite suffer the anguish that Indiana did by losing their first-round pick entirely, but No. 7 overall is still a pretty harsh deal for a team that won 22 games and is historically among the worst franchises in American professional sports history.
Brooklyn’s luck wasn’t much better, landing the No. 6 overall pick after a 20-win season in which all three of their 2025 first-round picks showed minimal redeeming qualities. Both teams should be able to land a legitimate talent and potential future All-Star with the pick they received. However, it’s still going to be hard to think about the what-ifs if Dybantsa, Peterson, Wilson, Boozer, and Acuff Jr. blossom into the talents they are expected to be.
Editor's Pick
WNBA Predictions: Finals, MVP, DPOY, COY, and 6POY