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Do something nice for the Indiana Pacers fan in your life today.
The Pacers suffered through the 2025-26 NBA season without Tyrese Haliburton, who tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Indiana lost Game 7 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, so Pacers fans were already tormented by what could have been if their All-Star point guard hadn't gone down.
This season was a lost season in Indiana, as the Pacers finished with a 19-63 record — the second-worst in the NBA behind only the Washington Wizards at 17-65 — but the light at the end of the tunnel was their 14% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. That may not seem like good odds, but 14% was the highest odds of the 14 teams in the lottery. Washington and Brooklyn also sat at 14%.
Bobby Marks described this year's draft class as the deepest pool of talent entering the NBA since 1996 on ESPN's broadcast of the draft lottery on Sunday afternoon. AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), and Cameron Boozer (Duke) were the consensus top-three prospects throughout the college basketball season, with Caleb Wilson (UNC) making a late push.
The Pacers won't have a chance to draft any of them.
The Pacers' ping-pong ball was drawn at No. 5 overall, which means the pick goes to the Los Angeles Clippers. Indiana's pick was top-four protected in the February trade in which the Clippers sent center Ivica Zubac to the Pacers in exchange for three draft picks. Because the Pacers landed the fifth overall pick, they came up empty-handed in the first round.
Haliburton consoled himself with humor on X:
The Wizards emerged victorious, however, and became the first team to finish with the league's worst record and win the No. 1 overall pick since the NBA adopted this current lottery format, per ESPN.
See the full draft lottery order below.
Washington WizardsUtah JazzMemphis GrizzliesChicago BullsLos Angeles ClippersBrooklyn NetsSacramento KingsAtlanta HawksDallas Mavericks Milwaukee BucksGolden State WarriorsOklahoma City ThunderMiami HeatCharlotte Hornets