No chaos with the OKC lottery pick, as it lands in the highest probability slot.
Despite finishing the regular season with the best record in the entire NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder still held a lottery pick from the LA Clippers. And with the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery taking place Sunday afternoon, the most likely outcome was always that the pick would land at No. 12.
That’s exactly what happened.
There were very small odds of that pick jumping into the top four, but given that the Clippers entered with the 12th-best lottery odds, the expectation was that the Thunder would ultimately own the No. 12 overall pick in June’s draft.
Now, that is official.
Oklahoma City will pick No. 12 in the first round, while also owning the No. 17 pick from the Philadelphia 76ers. That gives the Thunder two top-20 selections in the 2026 NBA Draft, unless they decide to leverage or package those picks in a larger offseason move.
Bigger picture, the Washington Wizards landed the No. 1 overall pick, followed by the Utah Jazz at No. 2, Memphis Grizzlies at No. 3 and Chicago Bulls at No. 4.
That means two of the top four picks, including the No. 1 overall selection, will be heading to Eastern Conference teams. In a draft class viewed as having franchise-altering talent at the top, that’s good news for the Thunder and the rest of the Western Conference.
The 2026 NBA Draft will kick off on June 23, shortly after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, in which Oklahoma City hopes to be playing in.