All You Need to Know About the Pelicans in the NBA Draft Lottery

The 2026 NBA Draft Lottery is right around the corner. Teams that missed the playoffs will be laser-focused on the ping pong balls that will have a big impact on their future as a franchise.

Unfortunately, there will be little excitement for the New Orleans Pelicans as they owe their first-round pick. Instead of finding out where they will be selecting in the draft, Pelicans fans will get to see whether it will be the Atlanta Hawks or the Milwaukee Bucks who will get their pick after the front office traded their first-round pick last summer to acquire Derik Queen. Atlanta will receive the more favorable of Milwaukee's and New Orleans' first-round picks, while the Bucks get the other.

Odds of the Pelicans/Hawks Pick

The Pelicans (aka the Atlanta Hawks for the purposes of the draft lottery) have the seventh-best odds to win the first-overall pick. There is a 6.8% chance it will be the No. 1 pick. There is a 29.3% chance that the Pelicans will be gifting the Hawks a top-four selection.

The most likely scenario is the Pelicans giving Atlanta the eighth-overall pick (35.6% chance). There is a 69.2% probability that the pick will be between seven and nine.

If the Bucks manage to climb up in the lottery and end up with a higher pick than the Pelicans' selection, they will owe their pick to the Hawks. In that scenario, the Pels' pick will go to Milwaukee.

At this point, this only matters so that Joe Dumars & Co. can save some face. In reality, there is no difference for the Pelicans organization whether they give up the No. 1 pick or the No. 9 pick. The decision to give up an unprotected first-rounder to acquire the 13th-overall pick last season was a disastrous miscalculation for a non-playoff team.

In fact, the Pelicans, along with the Clippers, are the only lottery teams that owe their pick. At least the Clippers have a 47.9% chance to get Indiana's first-round pick.

Who Has the Best Chance of Winning No. 1 Overall Pick?

The Wizards, Pacers, and the Nets are tied for the best chance at the first-overall pick at 14%, followed by the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings. Washington is the only team guaranteed to have a top-five pick.

How to Watch 2026 NBA Draft Lottery

When: Sunday, May 10th, 3 p.m. ET
Where: McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago, IL
TV: ABC or ESPN App

Do the Pelicans Have Any Picks in the 2026 NBA Draft?

In addition to owing their first-round pick to the Hawks or the Bucks, the Pelicans also owe their second-round pick to the Chicago Bulls. The only pick New Orleans has in this draft is the 58th-overall pick they got from the Knicks as part of the Jose Alvarado trade at the deadline.

Dumars is expected to pursue trades to get back into the draft. Considering how awful his track record in trades is, Pelicans fans should certainly temper expectations in terms of what that will look like.

Add us as a preferred source on Google