Brooklyn Nets' 2026-27 Season Success May be Determined by Draft Lottery

The Nets don't have a pick, but their season success could still be decided by how the lottery balls fall.

Mar 25, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez gestures during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brooklyn is hoping to have a fun, exciting season next year, but the extent of its success could be decided by how the weeks following the season turn out.

On Thursday, the NBA released its schedule for the 2026-27 season, giving the Nets and the rest of the league a peek at what the next chapter of basketball will look like. While the Nets aren’t the only team without their pick next season, they are still in a bit of a unique spot.

Hoping to make the play-in and perhaps the playoffs next season, things won’t be easy for Brooklyn. With the new lottery odds coming into place for next year, the Nets will be playing a dangerous game regardless of how their season goes. 

With all teams that miss the play-in and avoid a bottom three record having a tie for the best odds at No. 1, the Nets currently project to hand the best odds in the lottery to the Houston Rockets next season. Even if the Nets are able to make it into the play-in or playoffs, the Rockets will still have a decent shot at the top pick via Brooklyn.

To avoid giving the Rockets any chance at the top pick whatsoever, the Nets would need to finish in the top six in the East or win the 7-8 play-in game. Obviously, if Brooklyn could achieve either feat, next season would be an undeniable success.

However, with how competitive the East projects to be next year and the makeup of Brooklyn’s roster being a bit questionable, the Nets will almost certainly not be in those conversations. That means Brooklyn will patiently be awaiting the results of a draft lottery it isn’t technically part of to see if the 2026-27 campaign was a complete disaster.

Of course, the Nets should still have internal expectations and a scale of success that doesn’t take the draft lottery into account whatsoever. With so many young players and some veterans at key junctures of their careers, next season could be a real turning point for several players. After all, the Nets shouldn’t entirely base their season’s level of success on the consequences of a trade made six years earlier.

Still, the ghosts of giving Boston top picks that landed the Celtics Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum still haunt the Nets. Even if the situation is out of their control, another future star heading elsewhere via a Brooklyn pick would represent another blow to the franchise.