The Brooklyn Nets' No. 1 Odds Are Locked, Now What?

Brooklyn clinched top odds at the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Apr 7, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Injured Brooklyn Nets players Ziaire Williams (l) and Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney (21) look on during the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets completed their overarching mission of the 2025-26 season, securing top odds in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. With their loss on Friday and both the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings grabbing wins, there is now no way they can drop out of the bottom three teams in the league.

Lottery odds for the three worst teams in the league stand at an equal 14% chance of getting the No. 1 pick and a 52.1% chance of being in the top four. The Nets cannot land lower than the seventh pick.

Brooklyn currently stands at 20-61 with its final game of the season coming on the road against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. The Raptors will need to win the game to lock down a playoff spot. Although winning the game would not carry consequences for the Nets, it's likely their rotation will look similar to what it has over the past few weeks.

It might as well be the offseason already for Brooklyn and other teams in the heat of the lottery race. The lottery is scheduled for May 10 and will be broadcast on ESPN. Following the roulette of ping pong balls will be the NBA Draft Combine from May 10 to May 17.

Brooklyn's general manager Sean Marks has been in the position since 2016, and this will be the sixth time the team has been in the lottery under his direction. Egor Demin was the only rookie taken in the lottery that the team retained the rights to under Marks. He said the process is always nerve-wracking, no matter what the odds say.

"I think I'm nervous for where the ping pong balls land and so forth," Marks said. "If you've done your work, if you're prepared, and I give BJ Johnson and the rest of our amateur scouting department a lot of credit."

Along with their first-round pick, they have a second-round pick swap and the rights to the Atlanta Hawks second round pick. The first round of the 2026 NBA Draft will take place on June 24, followed by the second round on June 25. This is the inaugural offseason in which both rounds will get their own day.

The Nets will have a plethora of decisions to make this offseason in terms of how it constructs the roster. While the draft will be the highlight, they also have some of the most money to spend in free agency.