Details on the lottery chances for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The annual NBA Draft Lottery takes place on Saturday, May 9 at 3 PM ET.
The Los Angeles Clippers finished their season with a 42-40 record, putting them ninth in the West. They lost the nine vs. ten play-in game to the Golden State Warriors, putting them in the lottery for this season.
Unfortunately for them, they do not have their draft pick as it was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019.
They do have a chance to land a lottery pick though thanks to a trade deadline deal with the Indiana Pacers that saw them acquire a protected first round pick.
Lottery Odds via the Pacers
On February 5, the Clippers traded Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown in exchange for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks, and a second-round pick.
One of the first round picks was a 2026 protected pick from the Pacers. The pick is protected 1-4 and 10-30, which means if it falls between 5-9, it would convey to the Clippers.
The Pacers finished with the second worst record in the league, and their pick cannot fall past number six.
There is a 52.1 chance that the pick ends up in the top four, which means it will remain with Indiana.
That leaves a 47.9% chance that it falls to five or six, in which case it would belong to the Clippers. There is a 27.8% chance the pick lands at five and a 20.1% chance it lands at six.
Last season, the Washington Wizards had the second worst record in the league, giving them the second best odds to land the number one overall pick. They fell to sixth. In 2024, the Wizards remained at number one , and in 2023, the Rockets fell from number two to number four. Prior to last season, the last time pick two fell to five or six was 2020 when the Cavaliers went from two to five.
Not Owning Their Own Pick
In 2019, the Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round draft picks, and the rights to swap two other first-round picks in exchange for Paul George. The deal also allowed the Clippers to sign Kawhi Leonard, who wanted a co-star upon joining the team.
The 2026 first round pick went to Oklahoma City unprotected.
The pick currently falls 12th in the draft and has a 86.1% chance of staying remaining in that spot. There is a 1.5% chance that the pick lands at #1 overall and a 7.1% chance it moves into the top four.