The Brooklyn Nets ended the 2025-26 NBA season with a 20-62 record, meaning that they finished the campaign with the third-worst record in the league, behind only the Washington Wizards (17-65) and Indiana Pacers (19-63). If the 2026 NBA Draft was determined by reverse win-loss record, Brooklyn would be assured of the third overall pick, but the Lottery means there will inevitably be some shake-up in the draft order.
As it stands as of this writing, the Nets have a 14.0% chance of getting the first overall pick and have a 52.1% chance of their pick ending up in the top-4. At the same time, Brooklyn has a 47.1% chance of their pick ending up somewhere between No. 5 and No. 7 so they will have to prepare for their pick being anywhere between No. 1 and No. 7 depending on how the Lottery transpires.
The Nets, like every other team currently in the Lottery, are hoping to get lucky to get the first overall pick so they can select whoever they want, like BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, for example. Before the Lottery comes around on May. 10, here is where Brooklyn stands in terms of their draft picks after the Los Angeles Clippers lost in the play-in tournament to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday:
No. 3
If the Nets end up with the third overall pick, they are projected to take Duke forward Cameron Boozer, according to Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman. Assuming that the Wizards take Dybantsa and the Pacers select Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Boozer would be the best player left on the board and Brooklyn is still in a position to take the best player available and figure the rest out later.
No. 33
Wasserman projects Baylor wing Tounde Yessoufou to be the pick for the Nets at No. 33 as he brings NBA-level athleticism and physical tools in the league on the first day. Be that as it may, Yessoufou has to prove other the course of the pre-draft process that he can shoot consistently enough to be a productive NBA player, but for the time being, he would be an interesting selection for Brooklyn at this spot.
No. 43 (via Los Angeles Clippers)
Florida big Alex Condon is projected to be the pick for the Nets at this spot, per Wasserman, thanks to his ability to score on the interior along with his improving passing skills in a 6-foot-11, 230-pound frame. Coming off a 2025-26 season where the only players close to seven feet in height were centers Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe along with forward Danny Wolf, Condon could be another guy to bolster the frontcourt, especially if he is able to improve his long-range shooting.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: What picks do the Nets have in 2026 NBA Draft after Clippers loss?
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
