The Milwaukee Bucks are looking for a reset after a disappointing 32-50 regular season season and 11th-place finish in the Eastern Conference and the best way to do that is with bringing some new blood into the roster.

To do that, draft position is key. While the Bucks had a lackluster season, it still pales in comparison with the way that some other teams finished and because of that, Milwaukee's chances at landing a premier lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft are looking slim.

The NBA draft lottery operates remarkably similarly to the way the financial lottery does.

The lottery decides the pick order for the top 14 picks in any draft. The top four picks are drawn randomly and after that, the remaining lottery-eligible picks will have their choice of player 5-14 in reverse order of their regular season finish, meaning teams that did worse will pick higher.

The odds of being selected as one of the top four picks are also decided by team's regular season record, with worse teams having a better chance of being selected.

As of right now, the Bucks are projected to pick 10th in the draft based on record and their chances of being the number one overall pick are just 3%. Even then, the Atlanta Hawks are slated to acquire the better pick between the Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans, making Milwaukee's chances of picking first overall impossible.

That still leaves the Bucks with the possibility of acquiring the second-through fourth picks should the Pelicans be selected higher than them. The Pelicans have a 6.8% chance of being given the first overall pick. 

Even if the Bucks fall short of a top-four pick, being guaranteed in the top 10 is still an advantageous position for them to be in. The upcoming draft class is one of the more talented in recent memory.

Still, Milwaukee's problems also can't be solved with one or even two high-impact rookies, but it would be an advantageous start to their attempt at a turnaround. Their entire team structure needs to improve and while hiring Taylor Jenkins to be the new head coach is a promising start, the Bucks have a long way to go.

Obviously, that process can be jumpstarted with a high-draft pick, bit overall, there's a lot more work that needs to be done for Milwaukee to thrive again and if the favor of Giannis Antetokounmpo is a factor, not much time to get there.