Who are the winners and losers of the 2026 NBA Draft lottery?

The big day had finally arrived in the NBA: the Draft Lottery. Many teams spent all year tanking their season in preparation for this day. The Draft Lottery has always been a franchise changing day for many NBA franchises. It is a day when teams are rewarded through the odds of ping-pong balls. Like with any form of Lottery, there are winners and losers following the draw. The big winners of the lottery include the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers. The Wizards, Jazz, Grizzlies and Bulls are rewarded from their tanking seasons with the top four best draft prospects: AJ Dybansta, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson. The Clippers were able to gain the 5th pick after making a trade with the Indiana Pacers back during the 2026 trade deadline. The Pacers traded their 1-4 protected first round pick along with Benedict Mathurin and Isiah Jackson for Ivica Zubac from the Clippers. The first round pick fell to number 5 in the draft, conveying it to the Clippers. These five teams are now able to take step going forward with their rebuilds during the summer offseason. It is a major victory for the Wizards and Jazz, who have spent the last four years tanking for a franchise-changing star. The losers of the lottery include the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings. The Pacers, as previously mentioned, lost their pick after falling outside the top 4 in the lottery. The loss of the pick is a bummer for the Pacers, who tanked the entire season due to bad injury luck. The absence of star Tyrese Haliburton along with multiple injured role players sabotaged their season and a mid-season trade for Ivicia Zubac was a gamble that backfired. The Nets and Kings also spent the entire season tanking only to fall in the lottery. The Nets, who lack a blue-chip franchise cornerstone, are now in the midst of being stuck in purgatory as they do not own their own pick for the 2027 draft. The Kings, who are in a similar situation, lack a young rising star and continue to be stuck in no man's land. Lottery luck was not in these three teams' fortunes as the franchises have taken a hit going forward. So what comes next following the lottery? Will any of these winners and losers trade up or trade down in the 2026 draft? The NBA Draft lottery is a gamble like no other. You either win or you lose and face the music in the aftermath.