Hawks NBA Draft Lottery Odds: Can Atlanta Get the No. 1 Pick?

What do the NBA Draft Lottery Odds look like for the Hawks heading into Sunday?

Mar 19, 2026; Portland, OR, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) drives against Texas Longhorns forward Nic Codie (10) in the second half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The 2026 NBA Draft Lottery is nearly 72 hours away.

This 2026 NBA Draft Class has been talked about since the moment the 2025 draft ended and that is because of the talent at the top and one of the best freshmen classes to ever enter the draft.

The Atlanta Hawks have a huge opportunity if the lottery balls fall their way on Sunday. Atlanta made a trade in last year's draft with the New Orleans Pelicans and acquired the Pelicans unprotected 2026 first round pick that is the most favorable of the New Orleans and Milwaukee's selection. Coming into the lottery, the Pelicans are 7th in odds and the Bucks are 10th.

Let's break down the Hawks chances to get the No. 1 pick.

Odds for top pick

There has been a lot of confusion around the combined odds for the Hawks draft selection between New Orleans and Milwaukee and it is not as simple as just combining the odds. Here is how the odds to break down for Atlanta to get each pick inside the top four:

1st: 9.7%
2nd: 9.9%
3rd: 10.1%
4th: 10.2%

39.9% at the top 4

With the combined odds, the Hawks actually have the 6th best odds to win the 2026 draft lottery, behind the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, and the Sacramento Kings.

While jumping up to No. 1 or just getting into the top four is the dream for the Hawks, there are of course other possibilities.

The Hawks pick is either going to jump into the top four or it is going to be at 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, or 11th. 11th is highly unlikely because for that to happen, four teams (8th-14th) would have to jump into the top four and one of them cannot be the Bucks pick, or else the Hawks would get it. The most likely scenario if the pick does not jump into the top four is that the Hawks are going to be picking 7th-9th. They cannot pick 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, or 14th.

If the Hawks pick does land 7-9, it will be interesting to see the direction they go. There is a clear top four in this draft of (in no specific order) BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer, and North Carolina forward Claeb Wilson. Then, there is a quartet of guards such as Houston's Kingston Flemings, Arkansas guard Darius Acuff, Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, and Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr that are considered the next best of the bunch.

The Hawks enter the lottery fresh off a 46-36 season that saw them go 20-6 after the All-Star Break and get out of the play-in tournament for the first time in five seasons. They have a "core four" they can build around with Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, and Dyson Daniels as not only good players for the roster, but their contracts give them plenty of flexibility to put talent around them, but the Hawks are not going to have a direction as far as this offseason goes until they know where this pick lands.