What Celtics Fans Should Watch For In 2026 Nba Draft Lottery

What Celtics fans should watch for in 2026 NBA Draft Lottery originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The 2026 NBA Draft Lottery is scheduled for Sunday, May 10 at 3 p.m. ET, and the results could have a massive impact on the balance of power across the league for years to come.

There are a lot of teams that already have playoff-caliber rosters that are in the lottery, headlined by the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who own the Los Angeles Clippers’ lottery pick.

The 2026 draft class is also considered very strong, with a couple potential franchise players at the top.

The Boston Celtics are not in the lottery, even though some people expected them to be in it before the season. The C’s greatly exceeded regular season expectations before blowing a 3-1 lead and losing their first-round playoff series to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Let’s look at some of the ways the draft lottery could impact the Celtics even though they don’t own one of the 14 picks.

Pacers could add star player to championship core

The Pacers went through a “gap year” in 2025-26 due to Tyrese Haliburton missing the entire season while recovering from an Achilles tear in Game 7 of last year’s NBA Finals. Indiana has a strong core led by Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, Ivica Zubac and Andrew Nembhard. This group came within one victory of a championship last year and played the Celtics tough in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers finished with the second-worst record this season, giving them an opportunity to add an elite young player to that aforementioned core of veterans.

But they actually don’t even have an amazing chance to keep their own first-round pick. That’s because when they acquired Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers in February, Indiana sent L.A. its 2026 first-rounder protected for picks No. 1 through No. 4, and No. 10 through No. 30.

There’s a 52 percent chance the Pacers land a top-four pick and a 48 percent chance it slides down to No. 5 or No. 6 and goes to the Clippers.

The Pacers should be a top contender in the East next season if Haliburton is close to the player he was before his Achilles injury. But if they get a top-four pick, the Pacers could be a legit title threat for the foreseeable future, and that obviously would not be a good scenario for the Celtics.

It would benefit Boston and the other top teams in the East if the Pacers fell outside the top four and were forced to give up their lottery pick to the Clippers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo trade implications

If you’re a fan who wants the Celtics to trade for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, there are a couple teams you don’t want to win the lottery.

The Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat have been speculated as potential Antetokounmpo trade destinations in the past, and both teams are in the lottery this year. The Warriors have a 9.41 percent chance of a top-four pick but only a 2.0 percent chance to win the lottery. The Heat have a 4.78 percent chance of a top-four pick and a 1.0 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick. Safe to say, both teams need a miracle to jump up in the lottery.

The Bucks don’t control their own first-round pick, but there is a chance they could still get a top-four selection. Milwaukee gets the least favorable of its own pick and the New Orleans Pelicans’ pick, with the better one going to the Atlanta Hawks. If both the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ picks end up in the top-four, then Milwaukee would have a high lottery pick, which it could use to surround Antetokounmpo with a talented young rookie or package in a trade for a veteran player.

Now, the odds of both the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ picks both jumping into the top four are pretty slim, but it is at least possible.

Speaking of the Hawks, they have been thrown into mock trade proposals as a potential third team in an Antetokounmpo deal. Many of these mock trades include the Hawks trading the Pelicans’ pick and getting a star in return. But if the Hawks win the lottery, how much incentive would they have to trade that pick? Why not just take A.J. Dybantsa or Cameron Boozer and keep building on the success the franchise enjoyed this past season? If the Hawks added a Dybantsa or Boozer type of player, they could be a threat to win the East next season, which wouldn’t be good for the C’s.

So, to recap, any Celtics fan that wants Antetokounmpo should be rooting for the Warriors, Heat, Pelicans and Bucks picks to not end up in the top four.

Best-case scenario for Celtics?

The most ideal lottery outcome for the Celtics is likely one of the bottom teams in the Western Conference winning the lottery. They’re obviously not in the same conference as the Celtics and probably wouldn’t be a threat to trade for Antetokounmpo.

The Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings both have the second-best lottery odds at 14 percent each. The Memphis Grizzlies are next at 9.5 percent.

The OKC factor

If the Celtics are going to be a title contender in the short term, they might have to go through the Oklahoma City Thunder at some point. The defending champs are loaded with high-end talent at every position, including 2024-25 league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

OKC, as currently constructed, could be the best team in the league for three to five more years. The scary part of that is the Thunder could potentially add another top-tier player to their already stacked roster by winning the 2026 lottery.

The Thunder own the Los Angeles Clippers’ unprotected 2026 first-round pick as part of the Paul George trade in 2019. It is the gift that keeps on giving for the Thunder.

There is a 7.11 percent chance of that pick jumping into the top four and a 1.5 percent chance it ends up No. 1 overall. Those odds aren’t great, but remember, the Mavericks won the lottery last year with just a 1.8 percent chance.