Wizards Have Unlucky Draft Lottery History to Kick

Few Washington Wizards fans are entering this weekend's NBA Draft Lottery reveal feeling very optimistic, and as much as an attitude adjustment may help the fan base's general well being as the wait continues, it's hard to blame their setting purposefully-low expectations.

This is a team who's yet to truly take advantage of the league's new lottery structure, a system designed to make it easier for less tank-oriented organizations to jump the neediest franchises. This goes beyond last year's tragic slip all the way down to the sixth overall pick; Washington's yet to move up in the selection order in over a decade, forcing locals to reach all the way back to the Wizards' controversial decision to draft Otto Porter Jr. third in 2013 in searching for the last instance of lottery-related pleasant surprise.

Who is going to represent the Wizards on Sunday at the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery?

Here is a full list of everyone the team has sent (with the results of each lottery drawing) over the past 15 seasons:

• 2010: Irene Pollin - #1 (+4 spots, pictured below)
• 2011: John Wall - #6… pic.twitter.com/7xu67geZWf
— SleeperWizards (@SleeperWizards) May 4, 2026

The Wizards who limped out of the 2025-26 regular season did all they can to numerically boost their odds of returning to the top overall selection slot since 2010, even if their best efforts still come up short in clinching that elite draw they so desperately desire.

They're currently right there alongside some of the game's other happy rebuilders in the relatively-even hunt for the top-four, but the Wizards are overwhelmingly favored to experience another round of the worst-case scenario game with their backloaded odds to fall all the way to No. 5. As frustrating as such an outcome would be, this draft class is loaded enough to the point where the Wizards have plenty of other high-intrigue prospects to pivot to.

Their chances, as well as their history, are certainly inching them in the direction of such preparation.

The Wizards' Tough Luck

For awhile before last summer, the Wizards were happy to snag the pick that they were most favored to land. Before new management pulled the plug on the middling rosters of the early-2020s and even into 2024, the first lottery round to arrive as a direct result of their strategic redirect, they never seemed to move in any direction.

These Wizards peaked at the second-overall pick in 2024's cycle, an unfortunate year to end up right where they were slated to. A year after the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes and a season before Cooper Flagg and co. stepped up to bat, they settled for a considerably weaker class, but still managed to locate a 2x Rising Star in Alex Sarr with that second pick.

Washington Wizards Center Alex Sarr and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver — Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Alexander Sarr poses for photos with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the Washington Wizards in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

And between missing assets and general misfortune, the Wizards didn't make many more picks after rounding up John Wall, Bradley Beal and Porter to begin their previous decade. Granted, anything short of winning the whole ping pong ball-themed extravaganza would go down as a technical slip considering their top-rated odds, but the precedent that fans are fearful of is, admittedly, tough to ignore.

No Wizard nor fan can control whatever news awaits the franchise over the weekend. They've completed their bid for the third lottery win in Washington history, and must not sit tight while avoiding the dread that naturally comes with these reviews over recent history.

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