The Atlanta Hawks bring two first-round picks and a 29.3% chance at a top-four selection into Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery via the Pelicans-Bucks swap deal.
The Atlanta Hawks will enter Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery with two first-round picks and a chance at the No. 1 overall selection for the second time in three years.
General manager Onsi Saleh will represent the franchise on stage. The Hawks' lottery pick is guaranteed to land in the top 14. Atlanta also owns the No. 23 pick, acquired in a prior trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The lottery selection came through a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans last summer. Atlanta sent the Pelicans the No. 13 pick in the 2025 draft, which New Orleans used on center Derik Queen. In return, the Hawks received the No. 23 pick, used on Asa Newell, and the Pelicans' unprotected first-rounder this year. The 2026 selection carries a swap clause tied to the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Hawks will receive the more favorable of the two.
The Pelicans have a 6.8% chance at the No. 1 pick. The Bucks have a 3% chance. The combined odds give Atlanta a 29.3% chance at a top-four selection. The most likely landing spot is No. 7.
According to Tankathon, the Pelicans' pick has a 7.1% chance at No. 2, 7.5% at No. 3, and 7.9% at No. 4. Outside the top four, the Pelicans' selection is weighted toward No. 8 (35.6%) and No. 7 (19.8%). The Bucks' pick has a 3.3% chance at No. 2, 3.6% at No. 3, and 4% at No. 4, with a 65.9% chance of landing at No. 10.
The Hawks finished the regular season 46-36 and earned the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, skipping the play-in tournament for the first time in four years. Atlanta posted one of the league's best records after the All-Star break before losing in the first round to the New York Knicks.
The franchise traded guard Trae Young after seven and a half seasons. The move opened cap room and left Atlanta with a younger roster.
"The best iteration of this team is going to be through development and our players currently getting better," Saleh said Friday.
The 2026 class is regarded as one of the deepest in years. BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer, and forward Caleb Wilson are projected near the top of the board.
Saleh said the Hawks will draft the best player available regardless of fit.
"I've been around too many and seen too many situations where, if you don't draft the best player, you always go back to it, and you're like, 'Shoot, we should have drafted (them). What were we thinking? Like, that guy was (amazing),'" Saleh said. "And you draft good players because the idea there is, they should make your current players better, too, and they should get better because your current players are really good, too."
The Hawks have moved up before. In 2024, with a 3% chance at the No. 1 pick, Atlanta jumped to first overall and selected French wing Zaccharie Risacher. Risacher has had an uneven first two seasons.
Jalen Johnson, taken 20th overall in 2021, emerged as the team's primary offensive engine this season before the playoff loss. Johnson said after the series that he intends to return improved next season.
Saleh said the front office is encouraged by where the team is heading into the offseason.
"We're really excited about the future and what holds there, with the draft to the flexibility moving forward, all that stuff," Saleh said. "We're in a good place (and) position, set up moving forward, and our coaching staff has just been remarkable this year."
The lottery is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern on Sunday on ABC.
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