INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — The NBA Draft Lottery is over, and the Indiana Pacers won’t have a first-round pick this year after finishing with a franchise-worst 19–63 record.
Back in February, the Pacers traded several assets, including Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and a protected 2026 first-round pick, to the LA Clippers for star center Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown.
The protected 2026 first-round pick Indiana traded to Los Angeles specified Indiana had protections over draft picks 1–4 and 10–30, meaning the Clippers would only receive it if it landed between 5th and 9th.
The ping-pong balls landed on the No. 5 spot, and as a result, the Pacers now walk away from the lottery without a first-round selection after the organization’s worst season in franchise history.
Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard shared his immediate reaction via his X account (formerly Twitter).
“I’m really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember – this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”
Indiana’s trade for Zubac was a high-risk, high-reward gamble at the time. After the trade for Zubac, the Pacers’ front office hoped to couple Zubac with a potential top-four draft pick, which Indiana had a 52.1 percent chance of landing.
Pritchard shared his mindset behind February’s trade and how taking risks is important when competing for championships.
“I never feel like you can slow-play your way to success in this league,” Pritchard told Pacers reporter Tony East. “You have to swing. We wanted the pick, and I know people are going to be disappointed, but you have to remember, our top 7 or 8 players are still with us. Today, it stings but wait until next season. Let’s give this group an opportunity to go compete for a championship because they’ve proven they can do it.”
Pritchard showed disappointment, but he still has the utmost faith in how the Pacers will respond.
“We’re an organization that figures it out,” Pritchard said in Pacers reporter Dustin Dopirak’s X post. “I remember a couple years ago when I first started, one of our main players asked for a trade, and everybody thought it was the end of the world, and we came out okay. I know the Twitterverse is probably going to be a little brutal, and I get it, man, I get it. My heart was beating like it was Game Seven, and to those people, I’m sorry. I promise you, at the end of the day, we’re going to be an organization that figures it out, we’re very resourceful.”
The NBA’s free agency window opens on June 30.
