The Atlanta Hawks will pick No. 8 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft after the Pelicans pick they own landed at the most likely outcome on the lottery board.
CHICAGO — The Atlanta Hawks will pick No. 8 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft after the New Orleans Pelicans selection they own landed at the most likely outcome on the lottery board Sunday.
Atlanta acquired the pick last June in the trade that sent Derik Queen to the Pelicans for Asa Newell and New Orleans' 2026 first-round pick. The conveyed pick was the more favorable of the Pelicans' and Milwaukee Bucks' first-rounders. Milwaukee fell to No. 10, locking in the Pelicans' selection at No. 8 for Atlanta.
The Washington Wizards won the No. 1 pick. The Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, and Chicago Bulls rounded out the top four.
The Hawks went in with a 40.2% chance at a top-four pick. They didn't get the jump. No. 8 was the most likely landing spot at 30.18% odds, and that's where the pick stayed.
Atlanta moved up one spot from the Pelicans' original No. 7 lottery slot because two teams with worse records, Memphis and Chicago, jumped into the top four. With the Bucks at No. 10, the more favorable of the two protected picks became No. 8.
Daniel Starkman, the Hawks' vice president of player personnel, represented Atlanta in the drawing room. General manager Onsi Saleh sat on stage for the televised reveal.
The 2026 class is viewed as one of the deepest in recent memory. BYU's AJ Dybantsa and Kansas' Darryn Peterson are projected as the top two prospects. Duke's Cameron Boozer and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson are also expected to come off the board in the top five.
At No. 8, Atlanta is in range of prospects who would typically be valued in the lottery in a less crowded class. The Hawks are coming off a 46-win regular season and a first-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks. The young core of Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, Dyson Daniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker returns, with CJ McCollum added in the trade that sent Trae Young to Washington.
The 2026 NBA Draft is set for June 23-24 in Brooklyn.
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