The NBA held random drawings Monday to break six ties among teams with identical records, finalizing the post-lottery order for the 2026 NBA Draft.
One drawing was for a three-way tie at 45-37. The Phoenix Suns won the rights to the 16th pick, the Philadelphia 76ers won the second leg of that drawing to pick 17th and the Orlando Magic settled for the 18th choice.
But none of those teams still hold the rights to the corresponding pick. The Suns’ 16th pick goes to the Memphis Grizzlies, Philadelphia’s No. 17 conveys to the Oklahoma City Thunder and No. 18 belongs to the Charlotte Hornets as a result of previous trades.
The Toronto Raptors (46-36) will pick 19th ahead of the Atlanta Hawks. The Houston Rockets (52-30) won their drawing for the 22nd pick over the Cleveland Cavaliers. And in a drawing between two of the most popular teams in the NBA, the New York Knicks (53-29) beat out the Los Angeles Lakers for the 24th selection.
The other two tiebreakers settled the order among lottery teams. The lottery drawings on May 10 will determine the top four picks in the draft; if the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings (22-60) both miss out on the top four, Utah will pick at No. 5 ahead of Sacramento.
The same goes for the New Orleans Pelicans over the Dallas Mavericks (26-56), though the Pelicans’ pick is due to convey to either the Atlanta Hawks or Milwaukee Bucks.
No team’s lottery chances are improved or altered by the tiebreaking system; Teams will make selections 5-14 in inverse order of their regular-season records.
NBA draft lottery teams (record, lottery odds)
1. Washington (17-65, 14.0%)
2. Indiana (19-3, 14.0%)
3. Brooklyn (20-62, 14.0%)
4. Utah (22-60, 11.5%)
5. Sacramento (22-60, 11.5%)
6. Memphis (25-57, 9.0%)
7. New Orleans* (26-56, 6.8%)
8. Dallas (26-56, 6.7%)
9. Chicago (31-51, 4.5%)
10. Milwaukee (32-50, 3.0%)
11. Golden State (37-45, 2.0%)
12. L.A. Clippers** (42-40, 1.5%)
13. Miami (43-39, 1.0%)
14. Charlotte (44-38, 0.5%)
*Pick will convey to Atlanta or Milwaukee based on prior trade
**Pick belongs to Oklahoma City based on prior trade
NBA draft, rest of first round
15. Chicago (via Portland, 42-40)
16. Memphis (via Phoenix, 45-37)
17. Oklahoma City (via Philadelphia, 45-37)
18. Charlotte (via Orlando, 45-37)
19. Toronto (46-36)
20. San Antonio (via Atlanta, 46-36)
21. Detroit (via Minnesota, 49-33)
22. Philadelphia (via Houston, 52-30)
23. Atlanta (via Cleveland, 52-30)
24. New York (53-29)
25. L.A. Lakers (53-29)
26. Denver (54-28)
27. Boston (56-26)
28. Minnesota (via Detroit, 60-22)
29. Cleveland (via San Antonio, 62-20)
30. Dallas (via Oklahoma City, 64-18)
