The Indiana Pacers had a 14% chance of getting the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but ended up walking away empty-handed from the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago, Illinois. The Pacers fell to fifth in Sunday’s NBA draft lottery, which meant their first-round draft pick has gone to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac trade.
This was a terrible outcome for the Pacers, and superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton reacted to it by sharing rapper Lil Uzi Vert’s “I lost” meme.
— Tyrese Haliburton (@Hali) May 10, 2026
Haliburton and the Pacers did indeed lose. They would have been hoping to land one of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, or Caleb Wilson in the draft, and will now get none of those top prospects.
The Pacers did get unlucky here. They finished with the second-worst record in the NBA this season at 19-63 and had a 52.1% chance of getting a top-four pick. Had they not slid out, they would have retained the pick.
The Pacers had sent this 2026 first-round pick (protected), their 2029 first-round pick (unprotected), a 2028 second-round pick (unprotected), Bennedict Mathurin, and Isaiah Jackson to the Clippers for Zubac and Kobe Brown at the Feb 5. trade deadline. The 2026 pick was protected from Nos. 1 to 4 and 10 to 30.
Finishing with the second-worst record meant the farthest the Pacers’ pick could fall was No. 6. So, either they were getting a top-four pick or the Clippers were getting No. 5 or 6. Unfortunately for the Pacers, the latter outcome came true. Had this pick not been conveyed, the Clippers would have gotten an unprotected 2031 first-round pick.
So, the Pacers took a risk, and it backfired. We have them as our biggest losers from the draft lottery.
The Pacers had chosen to tank this season, with Haliburton sidelined after tearing his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They basically have nothing to show now for all that losing.
Of course, that pick having value is what helped them land Zubac, but you want to see an elite prospect among your ranks after going through such misery. The fanbase is devastated as a result, and Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard apologized to them.
“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.”
It definitely made sense to pursue Zubac, who made the All-Defensive Second Team in 2025. The 29-year-old then averaged 14.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game for the Clippers and Pacers in 2025-26.
Zubac is one of the better big men in the NBA and is an upgrade over Myles Turner, whom the Pacers lost in free agency to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2025. Had they retained the pick, we’d be talking about this as a fabulous trade.
Adding Dybantsa or Peterson to a core of Haliburton, Zubac, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith would have been incredible. Those dreams are shattered now.
Nothing much has really gone right for Haliburton lately. Back in April, he spoke about being diagnosed with shingles and how it had led to him gaining weight and losing part of his eyebrow. You’d imagine the Pacers getting a top-four pick would have cheered him up, but it wasn’t to be.
The Pacers would still be confident of having a strong 2026-27 season despite this setback, primarily due to Haliburton’s return. The 26-year-old averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in 2024-25 and made the All-NBA Third Team. Haliburton is one of the best floor generals in the NBA and should revitalize the Pacers on his return to the court.
