Pacers Lose Top-Four Pick to Clippers After Zubac Trade Backfires in 2026 NBA Draft Lottery

The Indiana Pacers lost their top-four pick in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery Sunday afternoon, a costly outcome from a trade for center Ivica Zubac.

The team entered the lottery with a 52.1% chance of landing in the top four and a 14% shot at the No. 1 overall selection. After finishing 19-63 last season -- one year after reaching the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference -- they drew the No. 5 spot instead. That triggered the top-four protection on the pick they sent to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Zubac deal, handing the selection to Los Angeles for next month's draft.

Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard accepted blame in a post on X. "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 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."

Fans vented frustration in the replies. One wrote, "You lose Myles Turner and add Zubac. You lose [Benedict] Mathurin and the number 5 pick with absolutely nothing in return. This is why fans are upset, for a center who not even a top 5 center in the NBA. Who trades their future away for Ivan [sic] Zubac???." Another called it a "generational draft" and said Pacers supporters should feel "beyond devastated" over missing a deep class.

The Pacers appeared to tank the season despite NBA efforts to curb the practice, with the lottery odds as one deterrent. They played without All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, sidelined by an Achilles injury from the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Key returners next season include Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith.

The 2026 draft features prospects like BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson, North Carolina's Caleb Wilson and Duke's Cam Boozer.