The moment the Wizards won the NBA draft lottery (0:44)Take a look at the moment the Wizards claimed the top pick in the NBA draft lottery. (0:44)
ESPN staffMay 10, 2026, 03:41 PM ETMultiple Authors
The Washington Wizards won the NBA draft lottery Sunday and will pick No. 1 overall in the draft next month.
The Wizards, owners of the league’s worst record in 2025-26, had a 14.0% at the top pick. They’re followed by the Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls — all of which moved up into the top four on lottery day.
The draft will be held June 23 and 24 at Barclays Center in New York and will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC and the ESPN App.
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The Wizards’ long deconstruction and rebuild is now entering a phase in which the franchise should be competitive next season — if healthy. They needed a playmaking connector and an elite big man inside to help Alex Sarr’s development. They feel they did that by acquiring Young and Davis. After losing at least 64 games in each of the past three seasons, Washington will add the top pick in the draft to a nice young core that will surround Young and Davis.
“The Wizards train is starting to leave the station,” general manager Will Dawkins said at his end-of-season news conference. “It’s not full speed ahead, but we do plan to move with a little momentum.”
Memphis has already shifted its focus to a new young core that features shooting guard Cedric Coward, forward Jaylen Wells and center Zach Edey and its potential playing in coach Tuomas Isalo’s unconventional system. At this point, it appears the Grizzlies are just seeking the best deal in a Morant trade, which likely won’t be there until after the draft and free agency, when teams in pursuit of stars consider secondary options.
Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman has stressed that “there’s been open, honest and respectful communication the entire time with Ja and with his camp,” which was the case when the team was surveying the market for Morant at the trade deadline. The Grizzlies, which have never had the top pick in the draft, landed the No. 3 overall selection that will surely yield the Grizzlies an All-Star-caliber player. — Michael C. Wright
What can we expect to see from the Bulls under new front office leadership for the first time in six years?
Days before Chicago jumped in the lottery to secure the No. 4 pick, new Bulls vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham was clear in his assessment of the Bulls during his introductory news conference.
“We are in a rebuilding phase,” Graham said Wednesday. “I’m not going to be up here and mince words and say we’re further along if we just add a couple of pieces. Because that’s not the case.”
Graham defined a rebuild as a team looking for talent and more specifically, trying to find a star player that can help lead them out of it, which they should be able to do with the No. 4 pick. Chicago also has No. 15 in this loaded draft class, which could help toward that goal. But after years of meandering in the middle without a clear direction, Graham doesn’t plan to skip steps.
He also gave a window into the kind of players he will target with a snappy acronym, “SLAP,” which stands for size, length, athleticism and physicality. — Collier
But now that the Clippers will get the No. 5 overall pick, the choice should be pretty simple: Choose whichever of the exciting young point guards — Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., Houston’s Kingston Flemings and Illinois’ Keaton Wagler — that they like the most, given that’s the consensus second tier of prospects outside of Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson at the top of the draft.
The Nets will be focused on taking the best player available on their board, regardless of position — which is partly how they wound up with so many ballhandling guards in the 2025 draft.
The Nets will be hoping this pick, along with tens of millions of dollars in cap space, will allow them to enter next season with an ability to be a potential East play-in team — at least. — Tim Bontemps
The Kings have needs all over their roster. How could they come out of this draft with things back on track?
This lottery pick, though, is the most important building block for the next era. The prospect they land will get an extended runway in a low-stress environment. Youth will be the priority next season for the rebuilding Kings, meaning a mountain of minutes, usage and growth will be available without the nightly winning demands. The Kings can select the best prospect available without a concern for roster needs — because they need everything.
This franchise needs a direction. Finding a future star on June 23 would be a large step toward finding that direction. — Anthony Slater
The Hawks’ post-Young run was a pleasant surprise and gave future star Jalen Johnson invaluable postseason experience. They discovered that their young core of Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu shine in Quin Snyder’s system and can thrive with pieces that fit nicely beside midseason additions CJ McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga.
The Hawks will have this pick, and they also own pick Nos. 23 and 57. They have their eyes set on the big picture and believe in development — they are the only franchise to win two straight Most Improved Player awards (Alexander-Walker, Daniels). Could they still make a trade for a superstar with their assets? Sure. But it would take a huge star to pry away this pick. The bottom line is the rising Hawks have a lot of options and don’t have to chase a superstar this summer.
“This team you guys just saw has been together for like three months,” general manager Onsi Saleh told reporters at his end-of-season news conference. “The reality of our group is we probably are going to add two 19-year-olds. We aren’t one player away from contending for a championship. … We got to nail the draft.” — Youngmisuk
Ujiri has a history of selecting players with massive wingspans and eye-popping athleticism, including Scottie Barnes with the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft when he was in Toronto. The Mavs, however, are in desperate need of shooting as they build around Cooper Flagg, who averaged 21.0 points per game during his Rookie of the Year campaign, despite poor spacing around him.
Ujiri has also landed some gems late in the first round, such as OG Anunoby (No. 23 in 2017) and Pascal Siakam (No. 27 in 2016). The Mavs need that trend to continue. They own Oklahoma City’s pick at the end of the Round 1 in this draft (No. 30) and have to swap with the Thunder in 2028 and the Spurs in 2030. — MacMahon
What are you hearing on how the Bucks will approach this draft, knowing that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future is up in the air?
Earlier this week, the Bucks finally put a clear timeline on a decision for the ongoing Antetokounmpo saga, when owner Jimmy Haslam stated the team wanted a resolution by the draft if the superstar plans to sign an extension to remain in Milwaukee or wants to leave to chase a championship elsewhere.
The timeline put the decision squarely in Antetokounmpo’s hands of whether he intends to re-sign an extension when he is eligible in October, but it also aims to give the Bucks clarity on how they will approach this next chapter of their future.
Antetokounmpo has made it clear he wants to compete for championships and if he wants to remain in Milwaukee, the organization has been aggressive — though not always successful — in attempting to surround him with talent necessary to do so. If Antetokounmpo believes he must leave Milwaukee to chase a second ring, however, the Bucks can begin rebuilding their team for the next era. — Collier
It’ will certainly be an internal conversation over the next six weeks. The Warriors made attempts to acquire both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard before the trade deadline in February and, at least in the Antetokounmpo offer, this pick was on the table. That was before they missed the playoffs and secured this pick in a loaded draft, bumping up the value.
If the Warriors are to seriously compete in the trade market for Antetokounmpo, Leonard (if he’s actually available) or any other big-name player, this pick would be assuredly required. In the fading days of the Steph Curry era, that’s worth a discussion.
The most likely scenario is they hold the pick and try to find a talent who can be a productive rotation contributor as a rookie and eventually grow into a larger role. — Slater
General manager Sam Presti has had success with picks outside the top 10. What type of player could the Thunder look at here?
The Heat also own pick No. 41. If they don’t move up and land a potential future star with their lottery pick — and they decide to keep the selection — they will likely look for someone who can come in and fit their culture and eventually contribute. But Riley made it abundantly clear during his end-of-season news conference that he wants another parade.
“We got a lot of flexibility, so I hope we can help Bam,” Riley said. “He deserves more help. He just deserves to win more because he makes such a great effort. And so I don’t blame him for being frustrated.” — Youngmisuk
The Hornets own No. 14 and No. 18, which gives them options. After their tremendous second-half run to the final play-in game, they can add two rotation players. Even though Kon Knueppel led the league in made 3-pointers and LaMelo Ball ranked second, they could add more shooting, size, another power forward, depth and defenders.
Moussa Diabate could use some help inside, where he is relentless on the glass but lacks elite size. Ryan Kalkbrenner, a 7-foot-1 center who was drafted in Round 2 last year, will improve, but another big man could help. Miles Bridges also does so much for the Hornets at power forward.
Charlotte has flexibility to either add in the draft or make a move for another veteran. Regardless, it plans to continue its rise and develop young talent as it looks to snap the NBA’s longest playoff drought in the NBA next season.