{"id":131474,"date":"2026-05-10T16:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T20:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/nba-lottery-chaos-washington-wizards-strike-gold-pacers-pay-for-tanking-gamble-nightmare-131474"},"modified":"2026-05-10T16:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T20:51:10","slug":"nba-lottery-chaos-washington-wizards-strike-gold-pacers-pay-for-tanking-gamble-nightmare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/nba-lottery-chaos-washington-wizards-strike-gold-pacers-pay-for-tanking-gamble-nightmare-131474","title":{"rendered":"NBA Lottery chaos: Washington Wizards strike gold, Pacers pay for tanking gamble nightmare"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This is perhaps the final year where good things will happen to teams with the worst record in the NBA<\/a>. With the league set to adjust the Draft Lottery<\/a> to address Adam Silver\u2019s tanking concerns, the Wizards picked the perfect time to bottom out.<\/p>\n

And if this is the end of the traditional race to the basement, the worst finally got first.<\/p>\n

The Washington Wizards<\/a>, the NBA\u2019s most pitiful team this past season at 17-65, won the NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, nabbing the prized pick with a 14% chance. Washington leaned into the skid and was rewarded with the right to draft the best collegiate name, which we all know is AJ Dybantsa, of course …<\/p>\n

WARRIORS’ DRAYMOND GREEN FLOATS NBA TANKING FIX, SAYS PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT ‘AIN’T WORKING’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Throw in Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer for potential No. 1 overall picks.<\/p>\n

Dybantsa, the BYU wing, is the undisputed prize of the class \u2014 a scoring machine who led the nation with 25.5 points per game.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s tank job in 2025-26 worked, and their core for the future is looking at least respectable with Anthony Davis<\/span> and Trae Young in tow.<\/p>\n

MAVERICKS SEND ANTHONY DAVIS TO WIZARDS IN EIGHT-PLAYER TRADE: REPORT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The same cannot be said for the Brooklyn Nets<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Despite finishing with a dismal 20-62 record and sharing the league-best lottery odds, the ping-pong balls offered no mercy.<\/p>\n

The Nets slid to the No. 6 pick, falling out of the elite tier, though this draft has been praised for its depth, with names like Yaxel Lendeborg and Karim Lopez offering real value beyond the top tier.<\/p>\n

NETS FIRST-ROUND PICK DANNY WOLF POLITELY CORRECTS MOM IN TV INTERVIEW AFTER HARMLESS FLUB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Brooklyn burned a year of its fans\u2019 lives only to watch the Utah Jazz<\/span> and Memphis Grizzlies jump them in the draft order. Brooklyn is left picking through the best of the rest in a draft where the drop-off after the top four still feels like a cliff.<\/p>\n

The Jazz \u2014 one of the teams recently fined by the league for tanking during the regular season<\/a> \u2014 still managed to get a decent outcome after the NBA tried to police the tanking process.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the night\u2019s most brutal result belongs to the Indiana Pacers<\/span>, who effectively traded the No. 5 overall pick to the Clippers (owners of the fifth pick) for Ivica Zubac.<\/p>\n

Because they fell just one spot outside their top-four protection, the pick transfers to the Clips, which is a real catastrophic swing of fortune.<\/p>\n

The Pacers entered the night<\/span> with the same odds as the Wizards, only to walk away with nothing to show for their 63-loss campaign, which is a particularly cruel outcome for a team that, like Utah, had already been fined this season amid the league\u2019s crackdown on tanking.<\/p>\n

Pacers fans on social media were left in shambles.<\/p>\n

SOCIAL MEDIA RIPS PACERS STAR TYRESE HALIBURTON FOR SKIPPING MEDIA AFTER BAD PLAYOFF GAME<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Indiana tanked for nothing, should\u2019ve done what the Celtics did and understood your team better,” one NBA fan swore on X.<\/p>\n

Another said, “The Devil is collecting his debt from the pacers there\u2019s no way ts [this s**t] just happened to them.”<\/p>\n

Conspiracies about who could land the No. 1 pick ranged from the NBA rewarding host city Chicago<\/span> to fears that the Thunder would further load an already stacked roster using the Clippers\u2019 pick.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Clippers walk away<\/span> with the heist of the century via Indiana, while the Wizards become the last beneficiaries of a dying system.<\/p>\n

Top 14 NBA Draft Order<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Send us your thoughts: <\/em><\/strong>alejandro.avila@outkick.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a> \/ Follow along on X: @<\/em><\/strong>alejandroaveela<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/nba-lottery-chaos-washington-wizards-strike-gold-pacers-pay-tanking-gamble-nightmare <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is perhaps the final year where good things will happen to teams with the worst record in the NBA. 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