The Indiana Pacers will enter Sunday’s 2026 NBA Draft Lottery with significant implications tied to the outcome of their first-round pick.
Indiana will keep its selection only if the pick lands within the top four. If the pick falls to No. 5 or No. 6, it will be sent to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a previous trade agreement.
Should the Pacers retain the pick this year, the Clippers would instead receive Indiana’s unprotected 2031 first-round selection.
Because Indiana enters the lottery positioned at No. 2 overall, the furthest the franchise can drop is No. 6.
The Pacers have never won the NBA Draft Lottery in franchise history, and the highest draft selection the organization has ever made came in 1988 when Indiana selected Rik Smits with the No. 2 overall pick.
Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said the organization fully understood the risks connected to the deal when it was originally completed.
“When we made the trade, obviously we knew there was risk involved as there is in any other trade,” Buchanan said in a recent radio interview.
“With the draft pick involved, we looked at the finances of the situation and the scenario where you keep the pick, the scenario where you lose the pick. We felt that both scenarios provided opportunities to help our team be better next year.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the lottery, Indiana’s front office remains confident it can improve the roster regardless of how the ping-pong balls fall.
Pacers Hopeful Of Retaining Draft Pick But Don't Regret Ivica Zubac Trade https://t.co/tXvQ3BomC1
— RealGM (@RealGM) May 6, 2026
