Despite a disappointing season, the Bulls snag ninth lottery odds. A top pick in a loaded draft could ignite their long-awaited rebuild.
The Chicago Bulls closed out their 2025-26 season on a sour note, falling to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday and finishing the season 31-51 — the franchise's worst record under Billy Donovan, who took the helm in 2020.
But that disappointment came with a silver-lining acquisition as the Bulls officially secured the ninth-best odds for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, carrying a 20.3% chance at a top-four pick and 4.5% for the No. 1 selection.
The positioning battle since the second half of the season came down to the wire. Following the Milwaukee Bucks’ win over Brooklyn on Friday, the Bucks, which wrapped the season 32-50, slotted into 10th place in the lottery odds, nudging Chicago up to ninth and sparing them a worse tiebreaker scenario heading into the final stretch.
The 2026 NBA Draft is widely regarded as one of the strongest draft classes in recent memory, which consists of an impressive pool of potential prospects headlined by AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson. For a franchise that has been stuck in years of mediocrity — too competitive to tank, yet not talented enough to contend — and eventually free-falled towards the bottom, landing a legitimate star through the draft could serve as a shortcut to its rebuilding process.
If the Bulls could make a steal, a top-four leap would be transformative. It could place the Bulls in contention for one of the draft's elite prospects and accelerate a rebuild alongside emerging young pieces like Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis and their 2025 draftee Noa Essengue. Even a top-six-to-eight outcome keeps them within reach of high-upside talent.
Mar 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) and forward Matas Buzelis (14) high five during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn ImagesIf the great luck doesn’t fall, the Bulls are likely settling for a mid-lottery selection in the eighth-to-twelfth range — solid, but hardly the star power needed to escape the play-in purgatory they've stuck for years. Draft tracker site Tankathon currently predicts in its Mock Draft that Chicago will select Louisville’s Mike Brown Jr. at ninth, with Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan), Nate Ament (Tennessee) and Haines Steinbach (Washington) among other names from Power Five schools potentially on the Bulls' radar.
On top of their own pick, Chicago could also activate a first-rounder from the Portland Trail Blazers, who still own the Bulls’ pick due to the Lauri Markkanen trade in 2021. If the 8th-seeded Portland survives the Play-In with two trials and advances to the Playoffs, the Bulls will have the pick as high as 15th.
The lottery results will be revealed on May 10, ahead of the draft combine held in Chicago. However, before the Bulls can fully shift their attention to the draft and roster construction, the more urgent matter remains at the organizational level — with Donovan's future and the ongoing front office search yet to be resolved.