{"id":729771,"date":"2026-05-09T12:18:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T12:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/729771\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T12:18:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T12:18:17","slug":"nba-draft-2026-which-lottery-team-is-most-desperate-for-the-no-1-pick-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/729771\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Draft 2026: Which lottery team is most desperate for the No. 1 pick?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 NBA Draft lottery feels like one of the most important in the recent history of the sport, and not necessarily because there\u2019s a no-brainer future MVP candidate available at the top of the order. This draft is special because the top-four prospects all have the potential to be a franchise player down the line. Cameron Boozer is the No. 1 player in the class in our eyes<\/a>, but A.J. Dybantsa feels like the favorite to be drafted with the first-pick<\/a>, while Darryn Peterson will have plenty of fans as well. North Carolina\u2019s Caleb Wilson has the potential to be as good as any of them.<\/p>\n

The available talent is just one reason why this lottery is so important. The NBA is rushing through anti-tanking reform for next year\u2019s draft<\/a> that flattens the odds to such a degree that it will essentially randomize the draft order. The floor has also been taken out of the new rules, so while the worst team in the league can only fall to the No. 5 pick this year, next season they could fall as far as No. 12 overall.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The stakes are so high. Check out our most recent mock draft<\/a>, and read our take on who deserves lottery luck<\/a>. Now, let\u2019s rank every lottery team by how desperate they are to move into the top-4.<\/p>\n

No. Just no. If the Thunder cash in on their seven percent chance to move into the top-4, the rest of the league is in deep, deep trouble.<\/p>\n

The Hornets already look like the Team of the Future in the East to me after posting the league\u2019s best net-rating after Jan. 1. The Hornets are going to be good either way next year, and they\u2019ll have a chance to add two solid long-term pieces to the draft in this draft with multiple picks in the teens.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The stakes are higher for the Pacers than any other team. If their pick drops out of the top-4, it goes to the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> as part of the Ivica Zubac<\/a> trade. It\u2019s hard to see the Pacers as \u201cdesperate\u201d for lottery luck though because they were just in the NBA Finals last time they had a healthy Tyrese Haliburton<\/a>. Let\u2019s hope the star point guard recovers quickly from his shingles, but he should be ready to go coming off the Achilles tear.<\/p>\n

The Hawks took two games off the Knicks<\/a> in the first-round this year, and they already have a nice young core in place led by Jalen Johnson<\/a>. Atlanta is still searching for a true No. 1 option in this draft, but they have a bright future even if their pick remains in its expected range around No. 8.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Heat feel like they\u2019re stuck in no-man\u2019s land. The current team is just good enough to make the play-in tournament but not the playoffs, and they\u2019ll never be bad enough to have decent odds for a top pick. Next year\u2019s lottery changes really helps a team like Miami who is always in the middle. Lottery reform is basically a bailout package for the Heat, so they don\u2019t need luck as badly this year as some other teams.<\/p>\n

The Mavs needed a miracle to land Cooper Flagg<\/a> last year, and now they really need to make this year\u2019s pick count to find him a co-star. Dallas doesn\u2019t control its pick from 2027-2030, so this chance is precious. Flagg is going to be an A1 star starting next season, so they already have a bright future just with him plus a top-10 pick this year even if they don\u2019t move into the top-4.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Grizzlies appear ready to trade Ja Morant<\/a> after already trading Desmond Bane<\/a> and Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/a> Memphis has a decent young core in place with Zach Edey<\/a> and Cedric Coward<\/a>, and I fully trust this franchise to keep uncovering hidden gems in the draft. They would love lottery luck, but they don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n

The Jazz should be pretty good next season even if their pick doesn\u2019t falls out of the top-4. Lauri Markkanen<\/a>, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Keyonte George<\/a> are a solid core, and Ace Bailey<\/a> could also take a leap in his second season. Landing Dybantsa or Peterson would be the perfect final piece, and give Utah a real chance to be contenders in the future.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Warriors are staring down the reality that they\u2019re just not going to be good enough to contend in Steph Curry<\/a>\u2019s golden years. Moving into the top-4 wouldn\u2019t necessarily get the Warriors back on top, but it would at least give them a plausible exit strategy after Curry retires. I could see a big fall from Golden State coming soon if they don\u2019t get lottery luck and\/or nail this pick.<\/p>\n

The Bulls\u2019 roster feels bottom-3 in the league for next year before the offseason gets started. Chicago does a lot of cap space and two top-15 picks in this draft, and best of all Arturas Karnisovas isn\u2019t calling the shots anymore. New EVP Bryson Graham seems prepared to take a long-term view of the franchise\u2019s recent struggles, but the best way to turn things around is a little lottery luck. Chicago hasn\u2019t picked in the top-3 since it moved up to No. 1 for Derrick Rose<\/a> despite being one of the league\u2019s worst teams over the last decade.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Wizards traded for Anthony Davis<\/a> and Trae Young<\/a> to accelerate their rebuild, but AD doesn\u2019t seem thrilled to be there. Washington has a decent young core led by Alex Sarr<\/a> after a few years of tanking, but they still don\u2019t have a young franchise player. If the Wizards fall in the draft lottery again and can\u2019t get Davis to buy-in, they could be in danger of falling off the deep end when the new lottery odds begin.<\/p>\n

The Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> trade saga continues to hold the Bucks hostage. It feels like we\u2019re finally going to get some finality to the situation this summer as Milwaukee has the ability to offer their superstar a max extension. If Giannis turns it down, Bucks ownership has already said it will trade him. Getting lottery luck would change everything for the future of this franchise \u2014 whether that involved Giannis or not. The Bucks can pick as high as No. 2 \u2014 but only if the Hawks land No. 1.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

2. Brooklyn Nets<\/p>\n

The Nets had five first-round picks in last year\u2019s draft, but none of them are likely to turn into the franchise player this organization desperately needs. Brooklyn has a bottom tier roster right now and really needs a young star to build around. The Nets also owe a pick swap to Houston<\/a> next year, so this is their last chance to add a premium young talent until 2028.<\/p>\n

The Kings didn\u2019t want to tank \u2014 they just built a terrible team on accident. Sacramento\u2019s core is old and expensive, and somehow none of the main pieces on expiring contracts. How are the Kings ever going to compete in the West if they don\u2019t get lottery luck this year? The new odds are going to hurt them, and the roster probably has less young talent on it than any team in the league currently. I\u2019d love to see more top picks land in the East to address conference imbalance, but the Kings are the most desperate team in the league for a little bit of luck.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NBA Draft lottery feels like one of the most important in the recent history of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":729772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3767],"tags":[224,979,495,208,7264,7,670,247,3803,17047,3522,473,329,225,149,1025,497,123,164,292,126,532,178,2990,496,955,304,976,135,177,189,121,6,249,671,179,477,932,396,494,278,427,468,1083],"class_list":{"0":"post-729771","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn-nets","8":"tag-ace-bailey","9":"tag-alex-sarr","10":"tag-anthony-davis","11":"tag-atlanta-hawks","12":"tag-barclays-center","13":"tag-basketball","14":"tag-brooklyn","15":"tag-brooklyn-nets","16":"tag-brooklynnets","17":"tag-cameron-boozer","18":"tag-cedric-coward","19":"tag-charlotte-hornets","20":"tag-chicago-bulls","21":"tag-cooper-flagg","22":"tag-dallas-mavericks","23":"tag-derrick-rose","24":"tag-desmond-bane","25":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","26":"tag-golden-state-warriors","27":"tag-houston","28":"tag-indiana-pacers","29":"tag-ivica-zubac","30":"tag-ja-morant","31":"tag-jalen-johnson","32":"tag-jaren-jackson-jr","33":"tag-keyonte-george","34":"tag-knicks","35":"tag-lauri-markkanen","36":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","37":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","38":"tag-miami-heat","39":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","40":"tag-nba","41":"tag-nba-draft-lottery","42":"tag-nets","43":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","44":"tag-sacramento-kings","45":"tag-steph-curry","46":"tag-team","47":"tag-trae-young","48":"tag-tyrese-haliburton","49":"tag-utah-jazz","50":"tag-washington-wizards","51":"tag-zach-edey"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729771","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=729771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=729771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=729771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}