Representatives from around the league are gathering in Chicago on Sunday for the 2026 NBA draft lottery to see which team will receive the top pick.
The Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards have the best chance to land the No. 1 pick, each at 14%. Washington finished the season with the league's worst record at 17-65, but that doesn't guarantee that it will win the lottery.
Since the league switched to the new lottery system before the 2018-19 season, the team with the worst record has never received the top pick. In fact, the last three teams to finish last in the league ended up with the fifth overall pick (Utah Jazz in 2024-25, Detroit Pistons in 2023-24 and 2022-23).
There have been big risers in past lotteries, too. The Dallas Mavericks jumped up 10 spots last season to win the No. 1 pick and select Cooper Flagg. The year before that, the Atlanta Hawks leaped ahead nine picks to earn the top spot, which they used to take Zaccharie Risacher.
This might mark the final iteration of this draft lottery structure. Sources told ESPN's Shams Charania in April that the league has disclosed to its 30 general managers a new anti-tanking draft reform termed the "3-2-1 lottery." It would include expanding the lottery to 16 teams, flattened odds and a relegation zone where the bottom three teams would be penalized with fewer lottery balls for the No. 1 pick, starting with the 2027 draft.
Who will leave Chicago the winner of the draft lottery? Follow along for live updates as the picks are announced.
