When is the 2026 NBA draft lottery? Rules, time, format, how to watch
Mark GiannottoOnce again, the future of the NBA comes down to 1,001 ping pong combinations.
The 2026 NBA Draft lottery slated for Sunday, May 10 is of particular interest this year with three ballyhooed prospects – BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson of Kansas and Duke's Cameron Boozer – at the top of draft boards and a strong class of potential impact players available from there. After months of projections and hype, the order in which each team is picking at the 2026 NBA Draft will finally be known.
Recent NBA Draft lottery history hasn't favored the teams that tank. Last year, the Dallas Mavericks received the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft (and the right to choose eventual rookie of the year Cooper Flagg) with just 1.5% odds to have the right ping pong ball combination. The Atlanta Hawks got the right to select No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher in 2024 despite 3% odds entering the draft lottery. Keep an eye on the LA Clippers (1.5% odds) because their first-round pick will convey to the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's rare, though, NBA teams with such long odds win the draft lottery in consecutive years. More often than not, those with the best odds to get the No. 1 pick wind up with it. With new lottery rules rumored to be coming as soon as next year, perhaps the league is due for a draft in which the status quo holds.
Here's a breakdown of the 2026 NBA Draft lottery, including the No. 1 pick odds for every team involved, as well as when the lottery is taking place and how to watch:
When is the 2026 NBA Draft lottery?
The 2026 NBA Draft lottery is scheduled for Sunday, May 10 at 3 p.m. ET at McCormick Place in Chicago.
How to watch 2026 NBA Draft lottery: TV, live streaming options
The 2026 NBA Draft lottery will be broadcast nationally on ABC and ESPN before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Viewers can also watch the lottery via live stream on ESPN Unlimited and Fubo.
- Date: Sunday, May 10
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: McCormick Place Convention Center (Chicago, Illinois)
- TV: ABC, ESPN
- Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, Fubo
2026 NBA Draft lottery format
Though NBA commissioner Adam Silver is promising changes to the league's lottery system due to the amount of tanking that occurred this season, those potential new rules are not yet in effect for this weekend's ping pong ball drawing.
The NBA Draft lottery, first adopted by the league ahead of the 1985 draft, will dictate the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2026 NBA Draft scheduled for June 23 and 24. Teams that didn't make the NBA playoffs this season are assigned a pre-determined number of ping pong ball combinations based on their record. The teams with the three worst records this past season -- Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets -- each have 14% odds to receive the No. 1 pick.
The current NBA draft lottery format was approved before the 2018 draft and flattened the odds at the top of the draft lottery. Previously, the team with the worst record had 25% odds to get the No. 1 pick, the second-worst record had 19.9% odds and the third-worst record received 15.6% odds.
Drawings are only done for the first four picks and the remaining teams pick in inverse order of their regular-season record. It means the team with the worst record will end up with no worse than the No. 5 pick in the draft.
"The drawing uses 14 ping-pong balls, numbered 1 through 14. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams.
For the drawing, all 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine. They are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is drawn. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is another 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a final 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned the combination of the four balls drawn from the machine will receive the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The ping-pong balls are then placed back in the machine and the same process is repeated for the second through fourth picks. If the same team comes up more than once (or if the one unassigned combination is drawn), then the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is drawn.
The 20-second and 10-second intervals at which the balls are mixed in the machine are monitored by a timekeeper who faces away from the machine and signals to the machine operator that the applicable period of time has elapsed.
2026 NBA Draft lottery odds
Here are the odds for each NBA team in the draft lottery to receive the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft:
- Washington Wizards: 14%
- Indiana Pacers: 14%*
- Brooklyn Nets: 14%
- Utah Jazz: 11.5%
- Sacramento Kings: 11.5%
- Memphis Grizzlies: 9%
- New Orleans Pelicans: 6.8%*
- Dallas Mavericks: 6.7%
- Chicago Bulls: 4.5%
- Milwaukee Bucks: 3%*
- Golden State Warriors: 2%
- LA Clippers: 1.5%*
- Miami Heat: 1%
- Charlotte Hornets: 0.5%
*Pacers pick could convey to LA Clippers*Pelicans pick will convey to Atlanta or Milwaukee*Bucks pick could convey to Atlanta via New Orleans*Clippers pick will convey to OKC Thunder
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