The 2026 NBA Draft Lottery takes place Sunday afternoon in Chicago, with the league set to determine the first 14 picks of this year’s NBA Draft. Several teams entered the season focused on positioning themselves for a chance at the No. 1 overall selection in what is considered one of the strongest draft classes in recent years.
The lottery drawing will be held at McCormick Place Convention Center and broadcast live before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Washington, Indiana, and Brooklyn each enter with the best odds at 14% to land the top pick.
There is no unanimous No. 1 prospect this year, but BYU forward AJ Dybantsa has emerged as the projected top selection heading into lottery weekend. Other highly regarded prospects include Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke forward Cameron Boozer, giving several franchises a chance to reshape their futures through the draft.
The NBA Draft Lottery begins Sunday, May 10, at 3 p.m. ET.
The event will air live on ABC and can also be streamed through the ABC and ESPN apps and websites. Several streaming services, including Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV Stream, and YouTube TV, are also carrying the broadcast.
The lottery determines the order of the first 14 selections in the 2026 NBA Draft, which will be held June 23-24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
According to the NBA, the lottery process uses 14 ping-pong balls to generate combinations for the top four picks. There are 1,001 possible combinations, with 1,000 assigned to lottery teams based on regular-season records and odds.
After the top four selections are drawn, the remaining lottery teams select in inverse order of their regular-season records.
Washington, Indiana, and Brooklyn finished with the three worst records in the NBA, and each received a 14% chance to win the No. 1 overall pick.
Utah and Sacramento are tied for the fourth-worst record, and each has an 11.5% chance at the top selection.
Here are the official odds for the No. 1 pick:
| PICK | TEAM | ODDS |
| 1 | Washington Wizards | 14% |
| 2 | Indiana Pacers | 14% |
| 3 | Brooklyn Nets | 14% |
| 4 | Utah Jazz | 11.5% |
| 5 | Sacramento Kings | 11.5% |
| 6 | Memphis Grizzlies | 11.5% |
| 7 | Atlanta Hawks (via New Orleans) | 6.8% |
| 8 | Dallas Mavericks | 6.7% |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 4.5% |
| 10 | Milwaukee Bucks | 3% |
| 11 | Golden State Warriors | 2% |
| 12 | Oklahoma City Thunder (via LA Clippers) | 1.5% |
| 13 | Miami Heat | 1% |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | 0.5% |
The NBA also outlined several pick conditions entering the lottery.
If Indiana’s selection falls outside the top four, the Los Angeles Clippers will receive the pick. Oklahoma City owns the Clippers’ lottery pick. Atlanta also owns swap rights involving Milwaukee and New Orleans.
Last year’s lottery produced a surprise result when Dallas won the No. 1 pick despite entering with only a 1.8% chance and later selected Cooper Flagg.
BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa enters the lottery as the projected No. 1 overall prospect on Adam Finkelstein’s latest NBA Draft Big Board.
Dybantsa is viewed by evaluators as one of the top-scoring wings in recent draft classes because of his shot creation, athleticism, and NBA-ready offensive skill set.
Kansas guard Darryn Peterson is ranked No. 2. Peterson is considered one of the top backcourt prospects available because of his playmaking and scoring ability.
Duke forward Cameron Boozer, the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, is ranked third entering lottery week. Boozer has drawn attention for his efficiency, rebounding, and versatility in the frontcourt.
Other top projected lottery prospects include:
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg and Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance are also projected as lottery-level prospects.
Several playoff teams remain connected to Sunday’s drawing through draft assets acquired earlier.
The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder owns the Clippers’ lottery pick and enters with a 1.5% chance at the No. 1 overall selection.
Golden State also remains part of the lottery field with a 2% chance at the top pick after finishing 37-45.
The draft lottery officially closes one of the most closely watched tank races in recent NBA history, with multiple franchises now waiting to see whether they can secure a franchise-changing prospect at the top of the 2026 draft.
Debayan Biswas Debayan Biswas is a sports writer at Heavy Sports covering NBA, NFL, Soccer, and Golf. His work has been syndicated on Yahoo Sports, Yardbarker, Flipboard, The Sun News, and The Olympian. Previously, he contributed to Athlon Sports, EssentiallySports, and PFSN. More about Debayan Biswas
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