{"id":713645,"date":"2026-04-19T03:37:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/713645\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T03:37:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:37:39","slug":"post-play-in-update-on-2026-draft-order-lottery-standings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/713645\/","title":{"rendered":"Post-Play-In Update On 2026 Draft Order, Lottery Standings"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we explained on Monday<\/a> following the conclusion of the NBA\u2019s 2025\/26 regular season, the results of the play-in tournament helped move the lottery standings and the 2026 draft order one step closer to being officially set.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know now\u2026<\/p>\n

Lottery teams<\/p>\n

The lower seeds won three of this week\u2019s six play-in games, but in the end, the teams that finished seventh and eighth in the East and West during the regular season are the ones advancing to the playoffs, with the ninth and 10th seeds having been bounced.<\/p>\n

The only deviation from the regular season standings was the Suns and Trail Blazers flipping spots in the Western Conference as a result of Portland\u2019s upset victory on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

As a result, the tentative lottery standings are the same as the ones we laid out on Monday. Here\u2019s what they look like, per Tankathon<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Team
\n1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8
\n9
\n10
\n11
\n12
\n13
\n14<\/p>\n

WAS
\n14
\n13.4
\n12.7
\n12
\n47.9
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

IND*
\n14
\n13.4
\n12.7
\n12
\n27.8
\n20
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

BKN
\n14
\n13.4
\n12.7
\n12
\n14.8
\n26
\n7
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

UTA
\n11.5
\n11.4
\n11.2
\n11
\n7.5
\n27.1
\n17.9
\n2.4
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

SAC
\n11.5
\n11.4
\n11.2
\n11
\n2
\n18.2
\n25.5
\n8.5
\n0.6
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

MEM
\n9
\n9.2
\n9.4
\n9.6
\n\u2013
\n8.6
\n29.7
\n20.6
\n3.7
\n0.2
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

NOP*
\n6.8
\n7.1
\n7.5
\n7.9
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n19.8
\n35.6
\n13.8
\n1.4
\n>0
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

DAL
\n6.7
\n7
\n7.4
\n7.8
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n32.9
\n31.1
\n6.6
\n0.4
\n>0
\n\u2013
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

CHI
\n4.5
\n4.8
\n5.2
\n5.7
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n50.8
\n25.9
\n3
\n0.1
\n>0
\n\u2013<\/p>\n

MIL*
\n3
\n3.3
\n3.6
\n4
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n65.9
\n19
\n1.2
\n>0
\n>0<\/p>\n

GSW
\n2
\n2.2
\n2.4
\n2.8
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n77.6
\n12.6
\n0.4
\n>0<\/p>\n

LAC*
\n1.5
\n1.7
\n1.9
\n2.1
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n86.1
\n6.7
\n0.1<\/p>\n

MIA
\n1
\n1.1
\n1.2
\n1.4
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n92.9
\n2.3<\/p>\n

CHA
\n0.5
\n0.6
\n0.6
\n0.7
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n\u2013
\n97.6<\/p>\n

(* Asterisks denote traded picks)<\/p>\n

The Pacers\u2018 pick will be sent to the Clippers if it\u2019s outside the top four.
\nThe Jazz\u2018s pick will be sent to the Thunder if it\u2019s outside the top eight.
\nThe most favorable of the Pelicans\u2018 and Bucks\u2018 picks will be sent to the Hawks, with Milwaukee receiving the least favorable of the two.
\nThe Clippers\u2018 pick will be sent to the Thunder.<\/p>\n

Multiple tiebreakers will still be required before the pre-lottery draft order is locked in, since two pairs of lottery teams finished the regular season with identical records. The teams listed above in italics were tied, so the following spots in the chart could still be flipped, pending the results of random tiebreakers:<\/p>\n

Utah Jazz \/ Sacramento Kings (22-60)
\nNew Orleans Pelicans \/ Dallas Mavericks (26-56)<\/p>\n

The Jazz and Kings will share identical odds at a top-four pick, while the winner of the Pelicans\/Mavericks tiebreaker will get one extra ping pong ball in the draft lottery, giving that team the slightest possible edge at a top-four selection. The most meaningful aspect of the tiebreaker results is the fact that they set the floor for how fall a team\u2019s pick can fall.<\/p>\n

For instance, if Utah wins its tiebreaker with Sacramento, the most likely landing spot for the Jazz\u2019s pick would be No. 6 overall and it would be guaranteed to land in the top eight, meaning it won\u2019t be conveyed to the Thunder. On the other hand, if the Kings win that tiebreaker, the most likely slot for the Jazz\u2019s pick is No. 7, and there would be a slight chance (0.6%) it could drop all the way to No. 9, in which case it would be sent to Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

Traded first-round picks<\/p>\n

The play-in results also provided some clarity on certain first-round picks that were traded with protections.<\/p>\n

Most notably, the Trail Blazers\u2018 playoff berth<\/a> ensured that Chicago will receive Portland\u2019s 2026 first-round pick, which featured top-14 protection. Since the Blazers had the worst regular season record of any playoff team, it\u2019s a best-case scenario for the Bulls, who will get the 15th overall selection from Portland.<\/p>\n

The Thunder are also now assured of receiving the Sixers\u2018 pick as a result of Philadelphia\u2019s playoff berth. That pick included top-four protection, so if the 76ers had been eliminated in the play-in tournament, there would\u2019ve been an outside shot of it moving up on lottery night and remaining in Philadelphia. Instead, it\u2019ll convey to Oklahoma City and will be in the 16-18 range, pending a tiebreaker.<\/p>\n

While the Thunder would\u2019ve received the Clippers\u2018 first-round pick whether or not L.A. made the playoffs, it\u2019s worth noting that the Clippers\u2019 loss to Golden State on Wednesday means it will be a lottery selection<\/a>. There\u2019s a 7.2% chance that Oklahoma City will move into the top four with that Clippers pick, which would be a nightmare scenario for the rest of the NBA.<\/p>\n

Playoff teams<\/p>\n

Based on the play-in results, the draft order outside of the lottery will be as follows, pending tiebreakers:<\/p>\n

Chicago Bulls (from Trail Blazers)
\nMemphis Grizzlies (from Magic) *
Charlotte Hornets (from Suns) *
Oklahoma City Thunder (from Sixers) *
\nSan Antonio Spurs (from Hawks) *
Toronto Raptors *
\nDetroit Pistons (from Timberwolves)
\nAtlanta Hawks (from Cavaliers) *
Philadelphia 76ers (from Rockets) *
\nLos Angeles Lakers *
New York Knicks *
\nDenver Nuggets
\nBoston Celtics
\nMinnesota Timberwolves (from Pistons)
\nCleveland Cavaliers (from Spurs)
\nDallas Mavericks (from Thunder)<\/p>\n

It remains possible that the Grizzlies could end up with the Suns\u2019 pick instead of the Magic\u2019s selection, with the Hornets getting Orlando\u2019s first-rounder in that scenario. Memphis has the right to the most favorable of the two picks, which will be determined by a tiebreaker. Each selection could land anywhere from No. 16 to No. 18.<\/p>\n

The random tiebreakers for draft positioning are expected to be conducted on Monday. Once those tiebreakers are completed, we\u2019ll publish a full pre-lottery order for both rounds of the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we explained on Monday following the conclusion of the NBA\u2019s 2025\/26 regular season, the results of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3792],"tags":[7,4056,6,986,477,4055],"class_list":{"0":"post-713645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento-kings","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-kings","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sacramento","12":"tag-sacramento-kings","13":"tag-sacramentokings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116429288305151610","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}