Kings Fall Again in NBA Lottery Standings With Win vs. Clippers

Here's a look at the updated NBA Draft lottery standings after the Sacramento Kings beat the L.A. Clippers.

Mar 11, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward/guard DeMar DeRozan (10) smiles between plays against the Charlotte Hornets during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings arguably picked up their biggest win of the season on Saturday night, beating the L.A. Clippers in Intuit Dome, but what was the cost?

Sure, it was a big win for the players and coaching staff, but the Kings continue to shoot themselves in the foot. After having sole possession of the top spot in the NBA Draft lottery for weeks, the Kings have won three of their last four games to drop from the esteemed spot. Now, after their win over the Clippers, the Kings are in third place in the lottery standings.

Updated draft lottery standings

The Kings now trail the Indiana Pacers and the Washington Wizards, but as long as they stay in the top three, they have a 14% chance at the first-overall pick regardless. Still, though, by having the league's third-worst record, they are capable of falling all the way to the seventh pick. The full updated lottery standings after Saturday's results:

1. Indiana Pacers (15-52) — 14%
2. Washington Wizards (16-50) — 14%
3. Sacramento Kings (17-51) — 14%
4. Brooklyn Nets (17-50) — 12.5%
5. Utah Jazz (20-47) — 10.5%
6. New Orleans Pelicans* (22-46) — 9%
7. Dallas Mavericks (22-45) — 7.5%
8. Memphis Grizzlies (23-43) — 6%
9. Chicago Bulls (27-40) — 4.5%
10. Milwaukee Bucks (27-39) — 3%
11. Portland Trail Blazers (32-35) — 2%
12. Golden State Warriors (32-34) — 1.5%
13. Charlotte Hornets (34-34) — 1%
14. Philadelphia 76ers* (36-31) — 0.5%

*ATL owns NO pick; OKC owns PHI pick

The difference between having first place in the lottery compared to third place could be catastrophic for the Kings. By having the best odds in the lottery, you have secured a top-five pick in the draft. However, with the third-best odds, you have a 7% chance to fall all the way to seventh, and your most likely draw is the sixth pick at 26%.

As it stands, the Kings are just half a game ahead of the Nets, and if their trend continues, they will likely fall to fourth place in the lottery standings. If that happens, they could even fall all the way to the eighth pick if the ping pong balls do not fall in their favor, and they would no longer be tied for the best odds to land the first-overall pick.

The Kings are winning too much

Scary territory.

Every team that is bottom 10 in draft lottery standings is on a losing streak or has at least lost their most recent game...except for the Sacramento Kings. pic.twitter.com/cTIkpgvx19

— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) March 15, 2026

For most of the season, the Kings have been losing games when they should be trying to win. Now? The Kings are winning games when they should be trying to lose.

Winning three of four games in this scenario is malpractice, and sure, props to the players and coaches for finding what works with this group, but they are destroying their future. The Kings are in a spot of desperation, where they likely feel they need to land a top prospect in this year's draft in order to turn things around. Right now, they have some impressive young pieces, but they still need a number-one option to build around.

If the Kings fall out of the top five in the draft, they can forget about the idea of taking a prospect like Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cam Boozer, or Caleb Wilson. Luckily, this draft has plenty of depth, and they will be able to land a difference-maker anywhere in the top eight, but missing out on one of the elite prospects because they are winning these late-season games would be tragic.