The year of tanking has finally come to an end. Which teams finished with the best odds to land the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery? Here’s everything you need to know.
Odds to land the No. 1 pick
The 14 teams that don’t make the playoffs have a chance to land the No. 1 pick. The teams that finished with the three-worst records — Washington, Indiana and Brooklyn — each have the highest odds (14%) at winning the No. 1 pick.
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Here are the odds for every team currently in the draft lottery, based on team records at the end of the regular season. Teams that finish the season with identical records will have their draft order determined by a random drawing.
Record: 17-65 | Streak: L-10
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 14%
Clinched one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the highest odds at the No. 1 pick. If the Wizards’ pick had fallen out of the top-8, it would have gone to the New York Knicks.
Record: 19-63 | Streak: L-2
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 14%
Clinched one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the highest odds at the No. 1 pick. Due to the Ivica Zubac trade with the Clippers, if the Pacers’ pick lands between the 5-9 spots on lotto night, it will go to L.A.
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Record: 20-62 | Streak: L-3
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 14%
Clinched one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the highest odds at the No. 1 pick.
Record: 22-60 | Streak: L-1
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 11.5%
Record: 22-60 | Streak: L-1
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 11.5%
Record: 25-57 | Streak: L-8
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 9%
Record: 26-56 | Streak: W-1
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 6.8%
Record: 26-56 | Streak: L-2
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 6.7%
The Pelicans owe their unprotected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks.
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Record: 31-51 | Streak: L-2
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 4.5%
Record: 32-50 | Streak: L-1
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 3%
Record: 37-45 | Streak: L-3
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 2%
The Warriors are in the play-in tournament and would fall out of the lottery if they advance to the playoffs.
Record: 42-40 | Streak: W-1
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 1.5%
The Clippers are in the play-in tournament and would fall out of the lottery if they advance to the playoffs. They owe their first-round pick to the Thunder.
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Record: 43-39 | Streak: W-2
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 1%
The Heat are in the play-in tournament and would fall out of the lottery if they advance to the playoffs.
Record: 44-38 | Streak: W-1
Current odds for No. 1 pick: 0.5%
The Hornets are in the play-in tournament and would fall out of the lottery if they advance to the playoffs.
2026 NBA Draft Lottery
Date: Sunday, May 10
Location: Chicago, Illinois
How the NBA Draft Lottery works
The draft lottery determines the order of the first 14 picks. It takes place in a private room with NBA officials, representatives of participating teams, select media and the accounting firm Ernst & Young, which oversees the drawings, in attendance.
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For the drawings, 14 ping-pong balls (numbered 1 through 14) are dropped in a lottery machine. Before the lottery, 1,000 of a possible 1,001 combinations are assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams. A league representative randomly selects four balls, revealing a four-number combination.
From the NBA:
The drawing process occurs in the following manner: All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.
If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is selected. Also, if the one unassigned combination is drawn, the result is discarded and the balls are drawn again.
After the first four picks are determined, the remaining picks are based on regular-season records, in reverse order.
Rest of NBA Draft order
FIRST ROUND NOS. 15-30 (as of the last day of the regular season)
15. Portland (to Chicago)
T-16. Orlando (to Charlotte)
T-16. Phoenix (to Memphis)
T-16. Philadelphia (to Oklahoma City)
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T-19. Toronto
T-19. Atlanta (to San Antonio)
21. Minnesota (to Detroit)
T-22. Cleveland (to Atlanta)
T-22. Houston (to Philadelphia)
T-24. Los Angeles Lakers
T-24. New York
26. Denver
27. Boston
28. Detroit (to Minnesota)
29. San Antonio (to Cleveland)
30. Oklahoma City (to Dallas)
