Mavericks Drop to No. 9 as Wizards Land No. 1 Pick in 2026 NBA Draft Lottery

CHICAGO — The Mavericks won’t be repeating lottery magic two years in a row.

Despite entering the night with a slim 6.7% shot at landing the No. 1 pick again, Dallas watched the top selection slip away in Sunday’s NBA Draft Lottery. Instead, that prize went to the Washington Wizards, while the Mavericks slid to the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

The lottery, held at Navy Pier in Chicago during ABC’s national broadcast, reshuffled the order in dramatic fashion. The Wizards landed No. 1, followed by the Utah Jazz at No. 2, the Memphis Grizzlies at No. 3, and the Chicago Bulls making a big leap up to No. 4.

Dallas actually came in tied for the seventh-worst record in the league with New Orleans but lost the tiebreaker, setting them up with the eighth-best odds. From there, the outcomes were mixed: a 29% chance at a top-four pick, a 32.9% chance to stay put, and a 31.1% risk of sliding back — which is exactly what happened.

Even with strong odds to stay higher, the Mavericks dropped to No. 9. On stage, franchise legend Rolando Blackman represented the team, while CEO Rick Welts, president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, and new GM Mike Schmitz were all present behind the scenes.

It continues a familiar trend for Dallas, which has now moved down in the lottery in eight straight years — with one major exception. Last year, the Mavericks made a massive 10-spot jump to grab the No. 1 pick and select Rookie of the Year forward Cooper Flagg.

Historically, the No. 9 pick has been part of Dallas’ draft story before, including selections like Dennis Smith Jr. in 2017 and Samaki Walker in 1996.

Looking ahead, this year’s class is headlined by a strong top tier featuring BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke big Cameron Boozer, and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson. Dybantsa is widely viewed as the current favorite to go No. 1, with the others expected to follow closely.

For Dallas, attention now shifts toward guard help. Players such as Mikel Brown Jr., Kingston Flemings, Brayden Burries, and possibly Keaton Wagler could be in play around the No. 9 spot.

No back-to-back lottery miracle this time — but the Mavericks still walk away with another chance to build around their rising core, led by Flagg.