Pacers lose out entirely on 2026 lottery pick, burned for risky Ivica Zubac trade with Clippers

The Indiana Pacers ended up as the biggest losers of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. The result was shocking, considering what the Pacers could have won on Sunday.

First, Indiana — which finished with the second-worst record in the NBA at 19-63 — shared the best odds to win the No. 1 overall pick at 14% with the Washington Wizards, who earned the top selection, and the Brooklyn Nets, who drew the No. 6 pick.

The Pacers also had a 52% chance of getting one of the top four slots, meaning it had an opportunity to get an impactful player even without winning the top pick. However, as part of the February trade to acquire center Ivica Zubac, Indiana had to surrender its first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers if it fell within the No. 5 and No. 9 selections.

Unfortunately for Pacers director of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, that worst-case scenario became reality when the Clippers’ card was drawn for the No. 5 pick. There would be no lottery pick for the Pacers.

Pritchard apologized to Pacers fans on social media for making a trade that lost their first-round pick, saying that he made the trade for Zubac because “this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year.”

“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” Pritchard wrote on X. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck.”

Indiana lost its starting center when Myles Turner signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency after last season. Pritchard later told The Athletic that he was “shocked” by the move and expected to re-sign Turner after the Pacers took the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the NBA Finals.

Leading up to the trade deadline, Pritchard attempted to find a replacement for Turner. He also attempted to make a deal for Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler and shifted his focus to Zubac after that attempt was unsuccessful, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. Getting a center ultimately cost the Pacers two first-round picks, two rotation players and a second-round selection.

After essentially taking a gap year while Tyrese Haliburton recovered from his torn Achilles, Indiana had an opportunity to add one of the draft’s four best players along with their star guard, All-Star Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard to next year’s team. That chance disappeared when NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum pulled the Clippers’ card from its envelope.

Ping-pong balls have rarely dealt a more painful outcome. Not only did the Pacers not get a lottery pick in this year’s draft, but they don’t have a first-round pick at all. Indiana included its 2029 first-rounder in the deal with the Clippers as well.

Again, this is after finishing with the second-worst record in the league. That kind of result is supposed to be rewarded with a shot at drafting one of the top amateur players available. Instead, Pritchard gambled that opportunity away.