Pacers No. 5 Lottery Pick Conveys to Clippers

The Indiana Pacers suffered a major setback in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday in Chicago, landing the No. 5 overall pick that conveyed to the Los Angeles Clippers due to trade protections, leaving the team without selections in the first or second rounds of the upcoming draft.

The Pacers entered the lottery with the second-worst record in the league at 19-63, earning them high odds for a top selection in a draft class considered among the deepest in recent years, featuring prospects such as BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Kansas's Darryn Peterson, Duke's Cam Boozer and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson. However, their pick fell just outside the top-four protection from a February trade that brought center Ivica Zubac to Indiana in exchange for guard Bennedict Mathurin, forward Isaiah Jackson, the 2026 first-round pick and the unprotected 2029 first-round pick, along with a second-round selection routed through another team.

Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard addressed the outcome directly, apologizing to fans on X shortly after the results. "I'm really sorry to all our fans," he wrote. "I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we...