Sacramento Kings lose tiebreaker. Updated NBA draft lottery odds, projections
The Sacramento Kings lost again.
The NBA held random drawings Monday to break five ties among teams with identical regular-season records to determine each team’s position ahead of the draft lottery. The Kings came up short, losing their tiebreaker with the Utah Jazz.
As a result, Utah will be fourth in the draft lottery and Sacramento will be fifth. Both teams will have an 11.5% chance at the No. 1 pick and a 45.2% chance of securing one of the top four picks.
The Jazz can fall no lower than eighth in the draft. The Kings can fall no lower than ninth. The Jazz will pick one spot ahead of the Kings if neither team moves up in the lottery.
The drawings were conducted by NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell at the NBA office in Secaucus, New Jersey. The tiebreaker process was overseen by Megan DeCesaris, a partner from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.
The Kings and Jazz both went 22-60 to tie for the fourth-worst record in the NBA. The Kings had the worst record in the league as recently as March 9 before going 8-10 over their last 18 games.
In other tiebreaker results:
• The New Orleans Pelicans won a tiebreaker with the Dallas Mavericks
• The Phoenix Suns won a tiebreaker with the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers
• The Toronto Raptors won a tiebreaker with the Atlanta hawks
• The Houston Rockets won a tiebreaker with the Cleveland Cavaliers
• The New York Knicks won a tiebreaker with the Los Angeles Lakers
The draft lottery will be held May 10. The draft will be held June 23-24. The Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets — the three worst teams in the NBA — will have a 52.1% chance of securing one of the top four picks and a 14% chance of being awarded the No. 1 pick.
BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke forward Cameron Boozer are widely projected as the top three picks in a draft class that has been touted as one of the best in NBA history.
Other players projected as potential top-10 picks include: North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson; Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff Jr.; Houston point guard Kingston Flemings; Illinois point guard Keaton Wagler; Louisville point guard Mikel Brown Jr.; Michigan power forward Yaxel Lendeborg; Arizona guard Brayden Burries; Tennessee forward Nate Ament; and Alabama point guard Labaron Philon Jr.
Tankathon.com’s latest mock draft predicts the Kings will select Flemings at No. 5. CBSSports.com and NBADraft.net have them taking Acuff.
This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 3:01 PM.
