Two teams that took steps at the trade deadline to add veteran talent so they wouldn’t tank next season — then glued those guys to the bench for the rest of this past season, ensuring they would tank this year — were rewarded by the basketball gods with the top two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Washington Wizards — who traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis at the trade deadline, then basically benched them and had the worst record in the NBA this past season — won the NBA Draft Lottery and now have the No. 1 pick in next month’s deep NBA draft. That gives them the chance to take 6'9" wing AJ Dybantsa out of BYU, who is at the top of most teams’ draft boards.
Picks 1-4 in the NBA Draft Lottery 2026:
— NBA (@NBA) May 10, 2026
1. Washington Wizards
2. Utah Jazz
3. Memphis Grizzlies
4. Chicago Bulls pic.twitter.com/9hDs3rTEyo
Utah jumped up to No. 2 pick after trading for (and sitting) Jaren Jackson Jr. for the stretch run of the season. The Jazz can now add an elite player — likely Kansas point guard Darryn Peterson — next to Keyonte George with a front court of Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler. Even in the West, that lineup is going to win some games.
The Memphis Grizzlies jumped up to the No. 3 pick with the sixth-best odds, and the Chicago Bulls jumped from ninth to fourth.
That means the Sacramento Kings and the Brooklyn Nets — two teams that didn’t tank but were just bad and needed talent — fell in this draft.
Here is how the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery shook out:
1. Washington Wizards
2. Utah Jazz
3. Memphis Grizzlies
4. Chicago Bulls
5. LA Clippers (via Indiana Pacers)
6. Brooklyn Nets
7. Sacramento Kings
8. Atlanta Hawks
9. Dallas Mavericks
10. Milwaukee Bucks
11. Golden State Warriors
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via LA Clippers)
13. Miami Heat
14. Charlotte Hornets
Some other notes on how the NBA Draft lottery broke down.
• This is the second year in a row that the team with Anthony Davis on their roster got the No. 1 pick.
• Washington is the first team to have the worst record in the league and win the lottery in this current lottery format (which will go away next year).
• This is the first time the Wizards have selected No. 1 since they took John Wall back in 2010 — and Wall represented them on stage Sunday.
• This is a massive moment for a Wizards team that has struggled in recent years, having missed the playoffs in seven of the last eight (and getting bounced in the first round the one time they did get in). If, like most teams, Washington has Dybantsa on top of their draft board, next season they could start Young, Kyshawn George (or Bilal Coulibaly), Dybantsa, Davis and Alex Sarr — that’s a quality starting five that could make some noise in the East.
• Memphis and Chicago jumping up can help them get players to start the retooling (or, for Memphis, rebuilding) that is needed in both markets.
• Remember that Brooklyn traded three future first-round picks (and a first-round swap) so they could regain control over their 2025 and 2026 first-round picks. They fell a total of five spots across those two drafts and did not get the chance to land the high-level talent they hoped.
• The LA Clippers get a big win as they get set to retool for whatever is next (after whatever happens with Kawhi Leonard this summer). The Clippers should be able to land a top point guard — Kingston Flemmings, Darius Acuff Jr. — although that becomes an odd fit for a team that just traded for Darius Garland at the deadline (part of the James Harden deal).
• With this outcome, the Pacers essentially traded the No. 5 pick for Ivica Zubac. That’s not all bad, he is the big they need with a healthy Tyrese Haliburton next season on a team that should be a contender. Still, it doesn’t feel good to them, as Haliburton summed up.
— Tyrese Haliburton (@Hali) May 10, 2026
• Oklahoma City — the defending champions who are undefeated in these playoffs (7-0) after winning 64 games this season, will have two first-round draft picks, Nos. 12 and 17, both via trade. Sam Presti is a wizard.
• Charlotte, coming off a breakout season after drafting Kon Knueppel No. 4 a year ago, will have two first-round picks, Nos. 14 and 18. They are just getting deeper and better.
• Atlanta has two picks as well, Nos. 8 and 23; while Dallas has 9 and No. 30.
• This is the last time we will see this NBA Draft Lottery format. Whatever comes forward next season — the league appears to be leaning toward a modified “3-2-1" system with 18 teams in the mix — it will be different. For better or worse. (You can be sure Adam Silver and the league will take a victory lap about how there is less, if any, tanking next season, but that is far more about the quality and depth of the draft than the lottery system.)
• Here is what the rest of the first round looks like:
15. Chicago Bulls (via Portland)
16. Memphis Grizzlies (via Phoenix)
17. Oklahoma City (via Philadelphia)
18. Charlotte Hornets (via Orlando)
19. Toronto Raptors
20. San Antonio Spurs (via Atlanta)
21. Detroit Pistons (via Minnesota)
22. Philadelphia 76ers (via Houston)
23. Atlanta Hawks (via Cleveland)
24. New York Knicks
25. Los Angeles Lakers
26. Denver Nuggets
27. Boston Celtics
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Detroit)
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (via San Antonio)
30. Dallas Mavericks (via Oklahoma City)
• The NBA Draft occurs on June 23-24 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
