The NBA has scheduled the 2026 NBA draft for Tuesday, June 23rd and Wednesday June 24th. Both nights will be televised by ESPN and begin at 8 p.m. ET.

The NBA draft lottery is scheduled for Sunday, May 10th. The Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets each share a 14 percent chance of landing the number one overall pick and a 52.1 percent chance of a top-4 pick. The Utah Jazz are close behind in terms of the odds at 48.1 percent in the top-4 and 12.5 percent at No. 1. 

A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson are expected to be the first four picks in some order. There are several highly touted guards right behind them in Keaton Wagler, Darius Acufff Jr., Kingston Flemings and Mikel Brown Jr.

The NBA draft has historically been held on a Thursday, but they switched to a Wednesday and Thursday format when they began to hold the first and second round on separate nights. The NBA is believed to have moved up the 2026 draft to a Tuesday and Wednesday in order to avoid competing against the United States' final World Cup group stage match against Türkiye on Thursday, June 25th in primetime.