Wizards win NBA Draft Lottery, will pick No. 1 from a loaded 2026 class

CHICAGO — A season of on-court suffering finally paid off for the Washington Wizards.

The Wizards won the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, about one month after they finished the regular season with the league’s worst record.

“Ultimately, it’s our fans that have endured the most,” said Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger, who represented the Wizards in the room where the lottery drawing took place.

“To me, this No. 1 pick is for them. It is a reward for hanging in there with us. It’s a reward for continuing to support us despite sometimes really bad basketball. They knew, and they supported, a multiyear teardown and a multiyear reinvention of the franchise. I think it’s a moment to celebrate them.”

The 2026 draft class is considered one of the deepest at the top in recent memory. The class’ big four are BYU wing AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke big man Cameron Boozer and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson.

Winger, who runs the umbrella organization composed of the Wizards, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go, said his front office has not decided whom it will select at No. 1. But the team likely will invite Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer and Wilson for individual workouts and extensive interviews in Washington in the coming weeks.

“Obviously, I’ve been bettering myself for a little while to be a No. 1 pick, so initially (I’m) just thinking how I would fit into the team,” Dybantsa said when asked for his reaction to the Wizards winning the lottery. “I think I’m pretty versatile, adaptable, so I think I can play anywhere.”

The Utah Jazz will pick second in the draft after a season in which they went 22-60 and finished with the league’s fourth-worst record. The Memphis Grizzlies will pick third, and the Chicago Bulls will pick fourth.

The Indiana Pacers ended the season with the league’s second-worst record at 19-63, but they fell in the lottery to fifth. As a result of their trade deadline deal with the LA Clippers to acquire center Ivica Zubac — a deal that stipulated the Pacers would keep their pick only if it landed in the top four — the Pacers will have to convey the No. 5 pick to the Clippers.

“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard wrote in a post on X after the lottery. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up fifth after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember — this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”

Lists of the next six prospects typically include guards Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas, Mikel Brown Jr. of Louisville, Brayden Burries of Arizona, Kingston Flemings of Houston and Keaton Wagler of Illinois, as well as big man Aday Mara, who helped Michigan win the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

But Sunday belonged to the Wizards, who previously won the lottery in 2001, when they selected big man Kwame Brown out of high school, and again in 2011, when they drafted point guard John Wall from Kentucky.

While Winger represented the Wizards in the drawing room Sunday, Wall represented the franchise on the stage as the lottery results were announced on national television.
Wall made five All-Star teams during the nine seasons he played for Washington.

Now, 15 years later, Wizards officials hope the player the team drafts first this year — whether it’s Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer or Wilson — will be even more impactful than Wall was.

That pick will join a roster that already includes point guard Trae Young and big man Anthony Davis, after the Wizards traded for both during the season.

“We get to add another really high-level young athlete to our core,” Winger said. “We’re trying to build something for a sustainable future. It’s a combination of young, ascending athletes with superstar vets. And getting to add another young guy with the No. 1 pick, you move ahead.”