The Washington Wizards secured the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft following Sunday's lottery in Chicago, setting the stage for what many consider one of the most anticipated drafts in league history. With the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies picking second and third, respectively, ESPN's Jeremy Woo has released his complete 2026 NBA mock draft projecting all 60 picks in the upcoming June draft.
Lottery Results Reshape the 2026 NBA Draft Order
The 2026 NBA Draft order features the Washington Wizards at No. 1, followed by the Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, and Milwaukee Bucks rounding out the top 10. The lottery, held at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center, determined the first four picks through random drawing, while the remaining lottery teams will select in positions 5-14 based on inverse order of their regular-season records.
The Los Angeles Clippers secured the No. 5 pick via a trade from the Indiana Pacers, with the pick being top-4 protected for Indiana, but when they landed outside of those picks, the pick conveyed to the Clippers. As a result, the Pacers won't have a first-round selection despite entering the lottery with 14% odds to land the top pick.
AJ Dybantsa Emerges as Projected No. 1 Pick
Dybantsa moves atop the mock after an excellent close to the season, with NBA executives broadly viewing him as the probable No. 1 choice, though there is no true consensus. The BYU freshman forward has impressed scouts throughout the season with his elite physical tools and scoring ability.
Dybantsa led the nation with 25.5 points per game while breaking Danny Ainge's 48-year-old BYU single-game freshman scoring record with a 43-point eruption. His combination of size, athleticism, and offensive versatility has positioned him as the likely choice for Washington, though there's no clear-cut No. 1 like recent drafts that featured Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama, each of whom arrived to the NBA as generational prospects.
Deep Talent Pool Highlights 2026 NBA Draft Class
The upcoming draft is one of the most anticipated in NBA history, and is a draft that's deep and stacked at the top, featuring multiple prospects with the upside of anchoring a roster and making multiple All-Star Games through the course of their careers. Beyond Dybantsa, the top tier includes several elite prospects who could make cases for the top selection.
Dynamic BYU forward AJ Dybantsa has hurdled Kansas guard Darryn Peterson to the top of many projected draft boards, but he's not the consensus No. 1 overall prospect in a draft where Duke forward Cameron Boozer and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson have also been floated as potential top picks. This depth at the top gives teams throughout the lottery legitimate opportunities to add franchise-changing talent.
Key Draft Details and Timeline
The 2026 NBA Draft will take place on June 23 (first round) and June 24 (second round). The draft will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with Round 1 airing on ABC, ESPN, and the ESPN App on June 23.
71 players have filed as early entry candidates for the 2026 NBA Draft, a significantly smaller pool compared to recent years. This reduced number of early entrants could impact the depth of the draft in the later rounds, though the first round remains stacked with high-level talent.
What This Means for the Wizards, Jazz, and Grizzlies
For Washington, landing the top pick represents a crucial opportunity to add a cornerstone piece to their rebuild. The Wizards went 1-26 in their final 27 games and secured the best possible draft positioning, with Dybantsa potentially complementing the Wizards' personnel neatly and joining a team shifting gears toward competing.
The Jazz, picking second, have multiple elite options to consider depending on how the Wizards select. Utah won a critical draft tiebreaker with Sacramento before the lottery, ensuring their pick could not fall below No. 8, which extinguished their pick obligation to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Memphis, selecting third, continues its rebuild after trading established players at the deadline. The Grizzlies' position in the top three gives them access to premium talent that could accelerate their return to playoff contention.
As teams prepare for the draft combine and individual workouts over the coming weeks, Woo's complete 60-pick mock draft provides a comprehensive look at how the 2026 NBA Draft might unfold. With no consensus top pick and elite talent available throughout the lottery, this year's draft promises to have significant implications for the future landscape of the NBA.
Sources & Original Reporting
