India, May 11 -- The Washington Wizards won the draft lottery on Sunday and are poised to pick No 1 overall for the first time since choosing John Wall in that spot in 2010. Wall was the Wizards' on-stage representative for the lottery. However, the bigger story today was the Indiana Pacers. Rick Carlisle and co entered the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery hoping their franchise-worst season would finally deliver a top draft selection. Instead, the lottery outcome left them without a single pick in this year's draft.

Despite finishing 19-63, the second-worst record in the NBA, Indiana's lottery combination did not land inside the protected range needed to keep its first-round pick. The ping-pong balls ultimately gave the Pacers the No 5 overall se...