After months of the discourse furing the 2025-26 NBA season regarding the blatant tanking by teams across the league, the regular season has now drawn to a close. It’s a loaded draft class that could prove historically good, which is why teams seemed to intentionally tank games to improve their 2026 NBA Draft lottery odds.

Let’s dive right into our 2026 NBA Draft lottery guide. Below you can find the final lottery odds, notes on draft pick protections and details on the date for the NBA Draft lottery.

Here are the 2026 NBA Draft lottery pick protections.

2026 IND 1st goes to the Los Angeles Clippers if it falls between picks 5-9

2026 UTA 1st goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls between picks 9-30

Milwaukee Bucks: Receive lowest first-round pick between Bucks and the New Orleans Pelicans (goes to the Atlanta Hawks)

Atlanta Hawks: Receive the highest of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft

The 2026 NBA Draft lottery is Sunday, May 10 and will be televised on ESPN.

The Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets are tied with the highest 2026 NBA Draft lottery odds with a 14 percent chance of landing the first overall pick and a 52.1 percent chance of landing a top-four pick.

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