NBA sets draft order breaking ties; Jazz secure fourth pick in 2026

The NBA resolved draft lottery ties on Monday, with the Utah Jazz securing the fourth pick and other teams also determined in the process.

Jazz win tiebreaker for fourth pick On Monday afternoon, the NBA finalized its tiebreaking procedure for the 2026 draft lottery, establishing the order from picks 15 through 30 and resolving two ties among teams positioned inside the lottery. The most significant outcome came from a random drawing conducted at the league’s offices in Secaucus, New Jersey, which broke the deadlock for the fourth overall selection between the Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz. Utah emerged with the fourth spot, while Sacramento was assigned the fifth selection. Despite this change, the lottery odds for both teams remained unchanged, as they were originally split between the fourth and fifth positions in the draft. ## Jazz safeguard protected draft pick For the Utah Jazz, the tiebreaker held major implications due to their possession of a top-eight protected first-round pick that would have conveyed to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it fell to the ninth position. Had Utah landed fifth, there existed a minuscule chance—though highly improbable—that the Jazz could have lost their pick entirely. This scenario would have required four of the nine picks ranked below Utah in the lottery to leap into the top four ahead of them, an outcome bordering on impossible. By securing the fourth pick instead, Utah guarantees retention of their draft choice, ensuring Oklahoma City receives no compensation. ## Other lottery ties resolved The NBA also settled five additional ties within the lottery. The seventh and eighth overall selections were determined, with the New Orleans Pelicans assigned the seventh spot and the Dallas Mavericks taking the eighth. However, New Orleans will not receive this selection due to a prior draft-night trade with the Atlanta Hawks from last June, meaning the Hawks will instead receive the better of the Pelicans’ or Milwaukee Bucks’ picks, while Milwaukee will receive the lesser of the two. Both Dallas’ and New Orleans’ picks carry a 29% chance of rising in the lottery and a 6.3% chance of landing the top overall selection. ## Later picks assigned through trades The 16th, 17th, and 18th picks belong to the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Charlotte Hornets, respectively, though none of those teams originally held these selections. Oklahoma City will be making the pick for Philadelphia, Memphis will receive the superior of Orlando’s and Phoenix’s selections, and Charlotte will take the inferior of the two. The 19th pick goes to the Toronto Raptors, while the 20th pick is held by the San Antonio Spurs via Atlanta’s first-round choice in this year’s draft. ## Additional selections finalized The Philadelphia 76ers will draft 22nd using Houston’s original first-round pick, and the Atlanta Hawks will select 23rd with Cleveland’s first-round choice. The New York Knicks hold the 24th pick, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at 25th. The NBA’s official draft lottery is scheduled for May 10 in Chicago, where the league’s draft combine will take place from May 10 to 17. The draft itself will span two nights at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with the first round on June 23 and the second round on June 24. Players considering early entry must declare by Friday. ## Draft lottery details overview The 2026 NBA draft lottery will determine the order of selection for the top picks, with ties broken via random drawing at league headquarters. Teams like Utah and Sacramento split odds for the fourth and fifth positions, while protected picks and traded selections add complexity to the process. The lottery’s outcome impacts not just the teams involved but also those holding future-year picks through agreements. The full draft order will be finalized on May 10, setting the stage for June’s selection weekend in Brooklyn.