A look at each team in the NBA draft lottery — and how it's gone for them in the past

Indiana Pacers

Lottery Wins: None Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 1985 and 1988 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 1986 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 14% Details: Indiana was one of the worst teams in the league when the lottery began and narrowly missed out on Ewing in 1985. The Pacers' pick this year goes to the Los Angeles Clippers if it is outside the top four.

Brooklyn/New Jersey Nets

Lottery Wins: 1990 (Derrick Coleman) and 2000 (Kenyon Martin) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 1991; No. 3 in 1987 and 2010 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 1988 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 14% Details: The Nets had just a 4% chance at the No. 1 pick when they won it in 2000, and they would have another top pick to their credit if they hadn’t dealt their selection away before the 2017 lottery.

Utah Jazz

Lottery Wins: None Other Top-3 Picks: No. 3 in 2011 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 2025 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 11.5% Details: The Jazz haven’t been in the lottery much over the past four decades, and when they have they’ve often been an afterthought. A trade gave them the Nets’ pick at No. 3 in 2011. Last year, Utah was in the top pre-lottery spot but fell to the No. 5 pick.

Sacramento Kings

Lottery Wins: 1989 (Pervis Ellison) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 2018; No. 3 in 1991 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 2009 and 2010 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 11.5% Details: Sacramento’s lone lottery victory led to a forgettable selection at No. 1, but the Kings haven’t had as many heartbreaking drops as you might think. Only once, in 2009, have they had the top pre-lottery position.

Memphis/Vancouver Grizzlies

Lottery Wins: None Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009 and 2019; No. 3 in 1996 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2018 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 9% Details: Plenty of No. 2 picks but no No. 1s. In 2003, the Grizzlies moved up four spots to No. 2, but that pick belonged to Detroit because of a trade. Had Memphis moved up one more spot to No. 1, its pick would have been protected — and the Grizzlies would have had a chance to draft LeBron James.

Atlanta Hawks

Lottery Wins: 2024 (Zaccharie Risacher) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 2005; No. 3 in 2001, 2007 and 2018 Dropped Out Of Top 3: None Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 9.8% Details: The Hawks finally exited the never-won-the-lottery club two years ago, making good on a 3% chance to land the first pick. This year Atlanta gets either New Orleans’ first-round pick or Milwaukee’s, whichever is better. (The Pelicans are seventh in the pre-lottery pecking order and the Bucks are 10th.)

Dallas Mavericks

Lottery Wins: 2025 (Cooper Flagg) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 1994 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 1986, 1992, 1993 and 2018 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 6.7% Details: The Mavericks were one of the unluckiest franchises in lottery history before capitalizing on a 1.8% chance to land Flagg. Before that, Dallas had never once improved its pick position. The mid-1990s were particularly dire. In 1993 the Mavericks went 11-71 but dropped three spots to No. 4. A 13-69 mark the following season didn’t yield the top pick either.

Chicago Bulls

Lottery Wins: 1999 (Elton Brand) and 2008 (Derrick Rose) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 2002 and 2006; No. 3 in 2004 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 2000 and 2001 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 4.5% Details: The Bulls landed the No. 1 pick just a season after losing Michael Jordan. They’ve struggled to build a contender since then, but they’ve had their chances.

Milwaukee Bucks

Lottery Wins: 1994 (Glenn Robinson) and 2005 (Andrew Bogut) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 2014 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 2007 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: None Details: Neither of those No. 1 picks was as much of a game changer for the Bucks as Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was taken outside the lottery in 2013. If Milwaukee's pick this year is higher than New Orleans', it would go to Atlanta and the Bucks would get the Pelicans' selection.

Golden State Warriors

Lottery Wins: 1995 (Joe Smith) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 2020; No. 3 in 1986, 1993 and 2002 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 1985, 1988 and 2001 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 2% Details: The Warriors were the lottery’s first big losers, receiving the No. 7 pick in the very first edition in 1985 after finishing tied for the worst record in the league. It wasn’t long before the NBA changed the rules to make drops of that size impossible.

Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle SuperSonics

Lottery Wins: None Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 1990, 2007 and 2022; No. 3 in 2009 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 2008 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 1.5% Details: Of the eight franchises that have never won the lottery, this is one of the luckiest. While in Seattle, the team moved up eight picks to get Gary Payton in 1990 and climbed three spots to select Kevin Durant in 2007. Now the Thunder have the Los Angeles Clippers' pick.

Miami Heat

Lottery Wins: None Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 2008; No. 3 in 1990 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 1989 and 1991 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 1% Details: The Heat have neither needed nor received much help in the lottery recently, but they could have used some during the franchise’s difficult early years. Miami dropped from first to fourth in 1989 after winning 15 games, then fell from second to fifth a couple of years later.

Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats

Lottery Wins: 1991 (Larry Johnson) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 1992, 2012 and 2023; No. 3 in 1999, 2006 and 2020 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 1989, 2005, 2013, 2024 and 2025 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: 0.5% Details: Charlotte has had so many lottery appearances that it is not surprising the franchise has experienced some good and bad. Jumping six spots to get Alonzo Mourning in 1992 might’ve been even more important than landing Johnson at No. 1 the year before. The Hornets also moved up a whopping 10 spots to No. 3 in 1999 and took Baron Davis.

Los Angeles Clippers

Lottery Wins: 1988 (Danny Manning), 1998 (Michael Olowokandi) and 2009 (Blake Griffin) Other Top-3 Picks: No. 2 in 1989, 1995, 2001 and 2004; No. 3 in 1985 and 2000 Dropped Out Of Top 3: 1987 and 1999 Chance Of Receiving No. 1 Pick This Year: None Details: The Clippers have had bad luck in a variety of ways, but the lottery has generally treated them fairly. Three No. 1 picks and six more top-three picks more than make up for occasional disappointments, like missing out on David Robinson after a 12-win season in 1987. Los Angeles has to give its pick to Oklahoma City, but the Clippers receive Indiana's if it is No. 5 or No. 6. \\\_ (AP reviewed data on realgm.com as part of its research to compile this report.) \\\_ AP NBA: