2026 NBA Draft Lottery Set for May 10 in Chicago
2026-nba-draft-lottery-date-time-odds-format
The NBA will reveal the order of the 2026 draft on Sunday, May 10, when the league conducts its annual lottery at McCormick Place convention center in Chicago. The broadcast begins at 3 p.m. ET on ABC and the ESPN app, with representatives from all 14 non-playoff teams on site.
Top spot up for grabs
Washington, Indiana and Brooklyn finished with the league’s three worst records and each carries a 14 percent chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick. Recent history shows the longest odds can prevail: Dallas won last year’s drawing with only a 1.8 percent chance and selected Duke forward Cooper Flagg first overall, while Atlanta claimed the top pick the year before with 3 percent odds and chose Zaccharie Risacher.
Complete odds for the No. 1 pick
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 – 8.0%
7. Atlanta Hawks (via New Orleans Pelicans) – 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 Hawks will receive the better of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ selections, leaving the other pick for Milwaukee. Oklahoma City is guaranteed the Clippers’ choice regardless of lottery results.
Tiebreakers already settled
The league conducted its customary random drawings on April 20 to break regular-season ties. The most significant outcome separated Utah and Sacramento for the fourth-best odds, with the Jazz winning the draw.
How the lottery operates
Fourteen numbered ping-pong balls are mixed, and four balls are drawn to create a 1,001-combination matrix. One thousand combinations are assigned to the participating franchises; the team holding the winning set claims the first pick. The procedure is repeated for picks 2 through 4, while selections 5-14 revert to inverse order of regular-season records. An Ernst & Young representative supervises the drawing, and results remain sealed until televised.
Reforms since 2019—and more on the horizon
The current format debuted in 2019 after the NBA’s 2017 vote to flatten odds among the worst three teams and expand the drawing from three to four picks. Commissioner Adam Silver said in March that additional measures aimed at curbing tanking are under consideration, with ownership expected to vote on anti-tanking proposals in May.
2026 draft details
The two-night draft will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday, June 23 (Round 1 on ABC, ESPN and the ESPN app) and Wednesday, June 24 (Round 2 on ESPN and the ESPN app).
Early look at top prospects
ESPN analyst Jeremy Woo currently lists the following players atop the 2026 class:
1. AJ Dybantsa, SF, BYU
2. Darryn Peterson, PG/SG, Kansas
3. Cameron Boozer, PF/C, Duke
4. Caleb Wilson, PF/C, North Carolina
5. Keaton Wagler, PG/SG, Illinois
6. Darius Acuff Jr., PG, Arkansas
7. Kingston Flemings, PG, Houston
8. Nate Ament, SF/PF, Tennessee
9. Mikel Brown Jr., PG, Louisville
10. Brayden Burries, SG, Arizona
The league and its fans will learn on May 10 which franchise gets the first chance to select from that group.
Source: ESPN
