The Washington Wizards waited eight years for this moment. Monday in Chicago, it finally arrived.
The Wizards—who went 17-65 this season, by far the worst record in the NBA—won the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery to claim the No. 1 overall pick in June’s draft. It is the first time in the current lottery format that the team with the worst record has landed the top selection after seven straight years of the bottom team coming up short. Washington went all the way down to secure the best odds, and this time it worked.
The order behind the Wizards carried its own surprises. The Utah Jazz, who held the fourth-best lottery odds, jumped all the way up to No. 2. The Memphis Grizzlies—sixth-best odds—landed third. And the Chicago Bulls, with the ninth-best odds, vaulted into the fourth spot.
Who Gets What—and Who Got Hurt
The results meant that the Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets—both tied with Washington for the best lottery odds—fell to fifth and sixth, respectively. For Indiana, the consequences were especially significant.
The Pacers’ fifth pick does not stay with them. It goes to the Los Angeles Clippers, as part of the trade that sent center Ivica Zubac to Indiana at February’s trade deadline. The Pacers’ pick protection in that deal required them to land in the top four to keep the selection. They did not. Indiana will now receive their 2031 pick back instead.
For Wizards executive Michael Winger, the moment was about more than basketball strategy.
“It’s our fans that have endured the most,” Winger said. “And to me, this No. 1 pick is for them. It’s a reward for hanging in there with us. It’s a reward to continue to support us despite sometimes really bad basketball. They knew and they supported a multiyear teardown, a multiyear reinvention of the franchise.”
The Wizards made significant moves during the season, trading for All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis. Now they add a top prospect to that foundation.
The Prospects at the Top
This year’s draft class generated unusual anticipation—enough that nearly a third of the league spent the final months of the regular season openly attempting to lose games in pursuit of the best lottery odds. The NBA, in response to the widespread tanking the sport has seen across two consecutive seasons, is expected to vote on a new lottery system at the board of governors meeting later this month. Sunday marked likely the final lottery under the current format.
The prospect debate at the top has been running all season and will now intensify heading toward the actual draft.
AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson: Top Two?
BYU forward AJ Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson have battled for the No. 1 honor throughout the year. Dybantsa—a 6-foot-9 forward from Brockton, Massachusetts—averaged 25.5 points per game as a freshman to lead the US college hoops in scoring, becoming the first player to do so since Trae Young at Oklahoma in 2018 and only the third freshman in history to accomplish it. He did not shy away from where he expects to land.
“Obviously, we’re going to find out on June 23 [June 24, Philippine time] where I’m going to land,” Dybantsa said. “I’m betting on myself to be a No. 1 pick. I think I’m very adaptable. I can play anywhere.”
Peterson averaged 20.2 points per game—the most ever by a Kansas freshman—but missed 11 games due to injury. The most games missed by a potential No. 1 overall pick since Kyrie Irving played only 11 games at Duke before being taken first in 2011.
Either man could be a perfect fit right next to Young and Davis at the Wizards.
Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, and the Rest
Behind those two, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson project as the likely third and fourth selections, in whatever order teams prefer.
Boozer—son of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer—swept virtually every individual honour in the country this season, averaging 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.4 steals on 55.6% shooting from the field and 39.6% from three across 38 games. Wilson averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks on 57.8% shooting in 24 games before a fractured left hand and then a broken right thumb ended his season before the NCAA tournament.
Boozer noted the surreal possibility that he could be selected by the Bulls or Jazz—two franchises his father suited up for during his own NBA career.
“It could be surreal, for sure,” he said. “I don’t know what the future holds, but it’s super exciting for sure.”
A group of guards—Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., and Illinois’ Keaton Wagler—are expected to dominate the mid-lottery, with Tennessee’s Nate Ament and Arizona’s Brayden Burries potentially entering that conversation as well.
The lottery is settled. The draft order is set. Now the real debate begins. And the Wizards are first on the clock.
