Wizards Win 2026 NBA Draft Lottery; Jazz, Grizzlies, Bulls In Top Four
The Wizards, who had the worst record in the league during the 2025/26 season, have won the 2026 NBA draft lottery.
Washington entered the lottery tied for the best possible odds (14%) to land the No. 1 overall pick. It was the first time since the current draft lottery format was implemented in 2019 that the league’s worst team claimed the first overall selection.
The full lottery order for the 2026 NBA draft is as follows:
- Washington Wizards
- Utah Jazz
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Chicago Bulls
- Los Angeles Clippers (from Pacers)
- Brooklyn Nets
- Sacramento Kings
- Atlanta Hawks (from Pelicans)
- Dallas Mavericks
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Golden State Warriors
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers)
- Miami Heat
- Charlotte Hornets
The Wizards have won 15, 18, and 17 games in the last three seasons, but didn’t have a clear-cut franchise player to show for it yet. They drafted Alex Sarr second overall in 2024 and slipped to sixth in 2025, opting to select Tre Johnson at that spot. This year, the ping pong balls landed in their favor and have put them in position to draft a long-term centerpiece.
While BYU forward AJ Dybantsa is the favorite to be the top pick, the Wizards figure to seriously consider prospects like Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer, and UNC forward Caleb Wilson before making their selection on June 23.
The lottery results were also great news for the Jazz, who entered the day fourth in the pre-lottery order and moved up to No. 2. Like the Wizards, Utah has been rebuilding for multiple years and had been preparing to take a step forward in 2026/27 even before the lottery outcome was known. While Washington traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis ahead of this year’s trade deadline, Utah acquired former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. in February.
Now, the Jazz are set to land a potential future All-Star to a roster that already features Jackson, Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, 2025 lottery pick Ace Bailey, and restricted free agent center Walker Kessler.
Notably, both the Wizards and Jazz had technically traded away their 2026 first-rounders, but both picks included top-eight protection, meaning they remained in Washington and Utah, respectively.
The same can’t be said for the Pacers, who traded their 2026 first-round pick with top-four protection to the Clippers in February’s Ivica Zubac blockbuster. After posting the second-worst record in the league this season, Indiana entered the day with a 52.1% chance of retaining that pick. Instead, L.A. won what was essentially a coin flip, with the pick slipping just outside of the top four. It’s a best-case scenario for the Clippers, who get the No. 5 overall selection and will add a young building block from a strong draft class to their core.
[RELATED: Pacers Hopeful Of Retaining Pick But Won’t Regret Zubac Deal]
Assuming neither the Jazz nor the Wizards do anything too surprising with the top two picks, the Grizzlies and Bulls, the day’s other two big winners, should have their choice of the remaining two prospects from a consensus top four of Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer, and Wilson.
Memphis, sixth in the pre-lottery order, had a 27.6% chance of moving into the top three, while Chicago made the biggest move up, from No. 9 to No. 4. The Bulls had just a 20.2% shot at a top-four pick entering the lottery.
The next tier of prospects in the 2026 class is made up of a handful of guards, including Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff, and Houston’s Kingston Flemings. Louisville guard Mikel Brown, Tennessee forward Nate Ament, Arizona guard Brayden Burries, Alabama guard Labaron Philon, Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, and Mexican forward Karim Lopez are among the other players in the mix for teams with top-10 picks.
That group of teams in the top 10 is rounded out by the Nets, Kings, Hawks, Mavericks, and Bucks. Besides Milwaukee, each of those teams fell one or more spots as a result of the lottery outcome. That’s especially disappointing for Brooklyn and Sacramento, two retooling teams whose rosters lack star power.
Atlanta was likely also hoping for a better result, having controlled the more favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ first-rounders entering the lottery. While the Hawks had a 40.2% chance at a top-four pick, they instead moved down a spot from No. 7 to No. 8, as New Orleans was leapfrogged by Chicago while Milwaukee’s pick remained at No. 10.
That pick was the one the Hawks acquired from the Pelicans at last year’s draft — we now know that the terms of that trade turned out to be Derik Queen for Asa Newell and this year’s eighth overall pick.
After teams eliminated in the play-in tournament won each of the past two draft lotteries – Atlanta in 2024 and Dallas in 2025 – there was no movement among this year’s play-in clubs, with the Warriors remaining at No. 11 and the Heat and Hornets staying at No. 13 and No. 14, respectively. Additionally, the Clippers’ own first-rounder, which was controlled by the Thunder, remained at No. 12 — it’s safe to assume the rest of the NBA breathed a sigh of relief when that envelope was opened and OKC’s logo was revealed.
Although the NBA doesn’t air the actual lottery drawing process during its half-hour broadcast announcing the results, the league has put out a behind-the-scenes video that shows the draw taking place. It can be viewed right here (via Twitter).
Lakers Notes: Ayton, Doncic, LeBron, Redick
Beyond the imposing 3-0 deficit they face after a trio of blowout losses, the biggest concern for the Lakers in their series with Oklahoma City might be the uninspired performance of Deandre Ayton, Thuc Nhi Nguyen of The Los Angeles Times writes in a subscriber-only piece.
L.A. was counting on Ayton to help neutralize OKC’s big front line, but he only played 24 minutes on Saturday, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds. He’s shooting 39.3% in the series after connecting at 60.4% during the regular season and was just 3-of-11 in the restricted area during the first two games.
Head coach JJ Redick pulled Ayton from Game 3 after a sequence that saw the Thunder collect three offensive rebounds within 19 seconds, ending with a foul when he shoved Ajay Mitchell on a drive to the basket. Redick didn’t want to reinsert Jaxson Hayes, who was ineffective in the 8:30 of playing time he got on Saturday, so he turned to rookie forward Adou Thiero to patrol the middle. The Lakers surrendered another offensive rebound off a free throw after Thiero entered the game, and Nguyen observes that Hayes “stared blankly ahead and shook his head slowly” with his arms folded across his chest.
It’s a frustrating repeat of last year’s playoffs, when Redick eventually opted to play without a center in a first-round loss to Minnesota. Ayton was signed last summer to fix the issue and was mostly effective during the regular season and the series against Houston. However, his meltdown against a superior OKC team raises questions about whether he’s a long-term solution. He holds an $8.1MM player option for next season, with a decision due by June 29.
“DA is a hell of a player,” Marcus Smart said after Saturday’s loss. “We all know it. We just want to get him the touches and get him the feel early, just to give them a different look. … All the guards are doing their thing. So we’re just trying to get the big fella involved.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- It looks like L.A. will be eliminated before Luka Doncic has a chance to return from his hamstring injury, which is bad news for the future as well as the current season, notes Mirjam Swanson of The Los Angeles Times (subscription required). Without their top player, it’s hard for the Lakers to gauge exactly how far away they are from being able to compete with the Thunder. “Look, yeah, when you have the league’s leading scorer out there – if he was – it definitely changes the dynamic of a team,” Luke Kennard said. “Obviously, we miss him. And we know he’s working his butt off right now [to return to play] … but yeah, I mean, he would definitely change it for us. But right now, he’s not.”
- LeBron James looked old and tired as OKC seized control of the game in the third quarter, contends Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times (subscription required). James played nearly 11 minutes in the quarter, but finished with just one made shot, no rebounds and a minus-13 rating.
- Redick may be out of answers as he tries to match up with the league’s deepest team, suggests Nick Friedell of The Athletic. The Thunder have pummeled the Lakers in the second half of all three games and have clear talent advantages throughout the roster. “Typically, if you can poke holes in a playoff series, there’s a good chance they might have a temporary solution or can sort of adjust maybe a little bit,” Redick said. “This team in-game, because of their personnel, can just adjust like that. They need shooting on the floor? Great. They need multiple wing defenders on the floor? Great. They need two bigs on the floor? Great.”
Thunder Notes: Mitchell, SGA, Wallace, Joe, Lottery
With the Lakers holding reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in check, a new star is emerging for the Thunder, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Second-year guard Ajay Mitchell, who wasn’t part of OKC’s rotation during its march to the title last season, had 24 points, 10 assists and no turnovers on Saturday as his team grabbed a 3-0 series lead with another dominant victory.
“I think the biggest thing for me was just going out there and being confident,” Mitchell said. “I know what I can do. When I go out there, I just want to compete and help this team win and play freely.”
Mitchell, who finished fifth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting, is only starting because Jalen Williams is sidelined with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. He has been a difference-maker in the first three games of the series, averaging 20.7 points, 6.7 assists and 1.0 turnovers while connecting at 53.3% from the field. He has also been the primary defender on Austin Reaves, who hasn’t shot well for most of the series.
“He’s just finding his footing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s obviously his first run in the playoffs. It’s obviously a different ballgame. He’s just getting more and more comfortable as the game goes on, as the series goes on. I said this before, he had a rough [Game 2 in Phoenix], but he was so confident out there. I was never worried that he was going to figure it out, and he’s showing that.”
There’s more on the Thunder:
- L.A.’s focus on controlling Gilgeous-Alexander has been effective, even though Oklahoma City is finding other ways to win, MacMahon adds. SGA finished with 23 points in Game 3, but was uncharacteristically inefficient, making just seven of his 20 shots. The Lakers are using former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to deny him the ball and then employing double teams whenever it does come to him. “Obviously, I haven’t been my best in performances, but I think I’ve been able to help the team win and that’s most important,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “As long as we win. If the rest of the playoff run or the rest of my career look like what it looked like the past few games, I’d be OK with it because we won games.”
- Mitchell could become one of the league’s biggest bargains over the next couple of years, notes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. As the 38th pick in the 2024 draft, he’s already the lowest-paid player on the roster at $3MM, and his salary falls to $2.85MM next season with a team option for the same amount for 2027/28. He’ll be extension-eligible by that point, and Mussatto expects the Thunder to reward him with a long-term contract that’s more in line with his production.
- Cason Wallace, who posted the highest-scoring playoff performance of his career with 12 points in Game 2, nearly exceeded it in the first quarter on Saturday, notes Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman. The third-year guard scored 11 points in the quarter by hitting all four of his shots, including three from beyond the arc, before finishing with 16. Isaiah Joe, who was losing playing time to Jared McCain earlier in the series, added 12 points and went 4-of-6 from three-point range.
- The Thunder, who already have the deepest roster in the league, could get even better with some lottery luck Sunday afternoon. They own the Clippers’ selection at No. 12, giving them a 1.5% chance to land the top overall pick and a 7.1% chance to finish in the top four, as we outlined in our lottery primer.
Thunder Notes: Holmgren, Hartenstein, McCain, Mitchell
The Thunder‘s big man combination of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein didn’t get off to a promising start, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. OKC added Hartenstein in free agency in the summer of 2024 after being badly outrebounded by Dallas in the conference semifinals. but because of injuries to both players, they weren’t able to get on the court together until February of that season. When they did, Mussatto describes their fit together as “clunky.”
“The first couple games, we didn’t think it was really going to work out,” Hartenstein said.
At 7’1″, Holmgren had been a center all his life, but he moved to power forward to accommodate Hartenstein’s physical presence inside. Although the team was initially more effective using one big man at a time, they eventually figured out how to work together, leading the Thunder to the NBA title last year and a 6-0 mark in this year’s playoffs following a 64-win season.
Coach Mark Daigneault, who oversaw the partnership, always believed it would be successful.
“We were pretty confident it could work, because the goal is to get your best players on the court, and they’re two of our best players,” Daigneault said. “It’s our job to figure out how to make that work, and we have a team that dances with us on that. And ultimately their heart being in it is important. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing — if they’re not fully invested in it, it’s not gonna work.”
There’s more on the Thunder:
- Jared McCain has been a perfect addition to Oklahoma City’s backcourt since being acquired from Philadelphia at the deadline, Mussatto adds in another Oklahoman story. The second-year guard has posted career playoff scoring highs in the past two games, and his 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting on Thursday helped the Thunder pull away. “I just think there’s certain qualities a player has that resonate with this particular locker room,” Daigneault replied when asked about McCain’s ability to adapt to the team in midseason. “Professionalism is one of them. Commitment to your craft is another one. Competitiveness, the willingness to compete and the willingness to play inside of the team. If you do those things on this team, you earn pretty immediate respect.”
- Ajay Mitchell has scored 18 and 20 points in the first two games of the series while filling in for the injured Jalen Williams, per Mussatto and Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman. Williams is dealing with a Grade 1 hamstring strain that has sidelined him since Game 2 of the first-round series with Phoenix, and he was ruled out for tonight’s contest.
- Meeting with reporters before Game 3, Lakers coach JJ Redick talked about the challenge of matching up with the Thunder’s depth, relays Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link). “The (Nikola) Topic kid has dealt with some health stuff, and their rookie (Thomas Sorber) is dealing with coming back from his offseason surgery,” Redick said. “Literally the other 13 guys are all top seven or eight rotation players in the NBA on any team. So they can just hit you with bodies. Just the nature of how they built that team.”
Redick, Lakers Gripe About Officiating After Game 2 Loss
After the Lakers lost Game 2 to the Thunder on Thursday by a score of 125-107, Austin Reaves and several of his teammates spoke to the game’s referees on the court before heading to the locker room, seemingly expressing their frustration with how the game was called (Twitter video link). As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, head coach JJ Redick voiced those frustrations during his post-game press conference.
“I sarcastically said the other day, (the Thunder are) the most disruptive team without fouling,” Redick said. “I mean, they have a few guys that foul on every possession. … They’re hard enough to play. They’re hard enough to play, you’ve got to be able to just call them if they foul, and they do foul.”
Through two games, the free throw disparity between the two teams isn’t significant — the Thunder have gone to the line 38 times, while the Lakers have attempted 34 free throws. However, Los Angeles’ leading scorer and play-maker LeBron James only has five of those free throw attempts, prompting Redick to specifically address the way the four-time MVP is being officiated.
“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick said. “I mean, I’ve been with him two years now. The smaller guys, because they can be theatric, they typically draw more fouls, and the bigger players that are built like LeBron, it’s hard for them. He gets clobbered. He got clobbered again tonight a bunch.
“And that’s not like a new thing. That’s not specific to this crew or this series. He gets fouled a lot and it doesn’t (get called). The guy gets hit on the head more than any player I’ve seen on drives, and it rarely gets called.”
As McMenamin observes, James appeared to express his displeasure with a number of calls over the course of the game, but he declined to speak about the officiating after the game. Reaves was more willing to discuss the subject, explaining that he took particular exception to a moment when crew chief John Goble “yelled in my face” as the Lakers guard was attempting to get in position for a jump ball (Twitter video link).
“At the end of the day, we’re grown men. And I just didn’t feel like he needed to yell in my face like that,” Reaves said. “I told him that. I wasn’t disrespectful. I told him if I did that to him first, I would have got a tech. I feel like the only reason I didn’t get a tech is because he knew he was in the wrong. So, yeah, I just felt disrespected.”
Regardless of whether or not the Lakers have legitimate gripes about the officiating, neither of the first two games in the series has been close, with the Thunder winning each one by 18 points. A more favorable whistle wouldn’t solve Los Angeles’ real problems in the matchup, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic. Redick acknowledged as much during his post-game remarks.
“We didn’t lose because of the refs,” the Lakers’ coach said, per Law Murray of The Athletic. “That’s never the case. You don’t lose because of the officials. You lose because the other team outplayed you. They obviously outplayed us. … So we just got to be better, and we’ll look at how we can be better at both ends.”
Northwest Notes: Braun, Wallace, Love, Nurkic, Blazers
After signing a five-year, $125MM rookie scale extension with the Nuggets last October, Christian Braun had a down year. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post details (subscription required), an ankle injury limited Braun to 44 regular season appearances and his three-point percentage dropped to 30.1%, easily a career low.
“I was rewarded for my work on my rookie deal, so I understand the expectations are higher, and I need to be better,” Braun said. “That just is what it is. So as an individual, I understand I need to get better. I need to play better. I get to get healthy, first and foremost. But there is no excuse.”
That left ankle injury – a severe sprain that included torn ligaments – was a recurring issue throughout the season and continued to swell up in the playoffs, Durando writes. Braun also sustained a left calf injury in Game 1 of the first round, two sources tell The Denver Post, which further limited his jumping ability. Still, the 25-year-old insisted that a disappointing year for both him and the team couldn’t be simply chalked up to health issues.
“A first-round exit’s not acceptable. We’ve gotta bounce back,” Braun said. “We’ve gotta get to work. … You can kind of put it on my shoulders. I think this team wasn’t resilient enough in the playoffs. … I just think I’m the leader of this team. I’m the vocal leader of this team. And when we don’t play well as a whole, you can blame whatever you want … You can blame anything. But I didn’t play well enough as an individual, and I didn’t have this team ready enough to play in a tough series. So we’ll be better. I’ll be better. I’m looking forward to next year, when we can respond.”
As Durando points out, while a cap-strapped Nuggets team may explore the possibility of trading Braun as his pricey extension begins, the widespread belief is that Denver would need to attach an asset or two to incentivize a team to take on that five-year contract. With that in mind, it’s more likely that Braun sticks around and gets a chance to rebuild his value with a bounce-back season in 2026/27.
We have more from around the Northwest:
- The Thunder – who have had the NBA’s best defense in each of the past two seasons – have no shortage of standouts on that end of the court, but Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman contends that third-year guard Cason Wallace deserves to be singled out with an All-Defensive nod this spring. “He leads the league in steals,” Luguentz Dort said of his teammate. “That says it all. The way he’s active with his hands, it’s really not easy to do. I’ve been trying, and obviously it’s not the same result. Just what he brings on that end of the floor, he’s active with his hands and he can move his feet really well. He’s really fast, and he’s stronger than people think as well. There’s a lot of stuff he does defensively that’s hard to do.”
- Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews what he believes may be the Trail Blazers‘ “most pivotal offseason in at least a decade,” examining the team’s cap situation and considering whether the time is right for the front office to make a major trade. It might make sense for Portland to cash in this summer on some of its excess first-round picks, Gozlan argues, since the teams those first-rounders are coming from – Orlando and Milwaukee – may improve in the coming years, reducing the value of their picks.
- Veteran big men Kevin Love and Jusuf Nurkic have expressed interest in remaining in Utah, prompting Sarah Todd of The Deseret News to consider whether the Jazz should want them back. Given that Love will likely be signing a minimum-salary contract, he’s probably more likely to return than Nurkic, whose future could hinge largely on his price tag in free agency, Todd writes.
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Ayton, Smart, Kennard, LeBron
Although various reporters have provided updates on Luka Doncic‘s status as he recovers from a hamstring strain – including ESPN’s Shams Charania referring to him over the weekend as “week to week” – the Lakers haven’t offered many hints about when they expect the star guard back — or even if they think he’ll return at all before their season is over.
As Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops writes, head coach JJ Redick simply told reporters after Sunday’s practice that there’s “no update” on Doncic. On Monday, the Lakers formally ruled him out for Tuesday’s Game 1, while the Thunder did the same with injured forward Jalen Williams, who is dealing with a left hamstring injury of his own, per Cliff Brunt of The Associated Press.
In a roundtable discussing the series, Justin Martinez, Joe Mussatto, and Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman suggest that Williams – who suffered a Grade 1 strain compared to a Grade 2 strain for Doncic – is probably ahead of Luka in the recovery process. However, The Oklahoman’s trio also suggests that the Thunder don’t necessarily need Williams back to win this series, whereas it’s hard to imagine the Lakers having a legitimate shot if Doncic doesn’t play.
Still, Redick remains confident in his team, noting that its success down the stretch of the regular season and in the first round wasn’t about the contributions of a single player.
“I remember there was a press conference that we did after one of our games during our 16-2 stretch,” Redick said after the Lakers closed out Houston on Friday, per Benjamin Royer of the Southern California News Group. “And you guys were like really hammering home a point about a specific player. … I said, ‘The reason our team is winning is because of our team, because each guy is starring in his role and contributing to winning.’ And that’s the story of this playoff series for us, where each guy had moments that helped us win the game.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- If the Lakers are going to have a legitimate chance to upset the Thunder, they’ll need a huge series from former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton, the player who “changes our ceiling the most,” according to Redick. Ayton said his goal against the defending champions is to play “bigger” and to be “relentless on the glass,” writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
- Marcus Smart is another key contributor for Los Angeles, and he and Ayton have been linked together all season after accepting buyouts and then joining the Lakers on discounted deals that feature second-year player option, notes Dan Woike of The Athletic. “We’re both trying to get our names back into the good graces of the basketball gods and just show what we still can do,” Smart said of himself and Ayton.
- Melissa Rohlin of the California Post identifies Luke Kennard as the Lakers’ X-factor in the second round, arguing that the sharpshooter needs to be less deferential and look to recapture his shooting touch after scoring just 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting in the final three games of the first round. Kennard is on an expiring contract, so a strong performance vs. the Thunder could help earn him a stronger payday in free agency.
- In an interesting story for ESPN.com, Dave McMenamin shares several highlights from an ongoing conversation he maintained with Lakers star LeBron James in eight cities across the entire 2025/26 season. The wide-ranging discussion includes McMenamin doing his best to get James’ thoughts on how he stacks up to Michael Jordan. “I never have compared myself to MJ because our games are totally different,” LeBron said. “I have been a point-forward/forward-point my whole life. I have always looked for the pass. MJ kind of looked for the shot. Not kind of, he did. He looked for the shot. There are a lot of things where I would say my game is a lot different and a little better than his, but s–t, he was f—ing great. We’re both great. We’re both great basketball players.”
Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Edwards, Dosunmu, Thunder
After a somewhat shocking first-round exit, the Nuggets need to figure out what comes next. Part of that will revolve around finding way to generate offense outside of Nikola Jokic, Bennett Durando writes for the Denver Post.
While the three-time MVP struggled, producing the first series without a 30-point game in his career, Durando notes that Denver’s offseason additions failed to provide any offensive spark to jump-start the team and help get Jokic in rhythm. As a team, the Nuggets shot 32.1% on wide-open threes, and Bruce Brown had nine turnovers to 10 assists for the series.
“I think you have to look at the different formulas of how we played (offensively) this year, what was most successful,” head coach David Adelman said of the offense not translating from the regular season. “And you have to really break it down more so into the types of teams that we struggled with, and what are the answers there to make things flow better for us. And I think that takes time.”
The Nuggets will now have to figure out what comes next, and that includes considering options that might not have been on the table before, such as trading Jamal Murray, coming off the most successful regular season of his career, writes Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette.
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is hopeful that he’ll be able to return for the second-round series against the Spurs, after missing Game 7 and being ruled week-to-week due to a hyperextended knee. Edwards has been doing constant rehab work and has told his teammates he expects to return at some point in the series, Jon Krawczynski writes for The Athletic.
- The Timberwolves lost Ayo Dosunmu in their close-out game over the Nuggets, and it’s unclear how soon he’ll be back. “Ayo is more day to day,” coach Chris Finch said, per Andrew Dukowitz (Twitter video link). “He went through things but just the light stuff.” Dosunmu was the hero of Game 4, scoring 43 points to lead the Wolves to a win without Edwards.
- The Thunder have built a culture that includes relationships with previous franchise mainstays, such as Serge Ibaka. Chet Holmgren spoke recently on how important that is. “I think it’s amazing. One, I think it speaks to the culture that those guys, Serge, still coming back around however many years since he left here,” Holmgren said, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (video link). “… It was cool to sit down and talk to Serge about some of his experiences in this exact building. It’s been fun.“
Northwest Notes: McDaniels, Wolves, A. Mitchell, Lillard
In a first-round series featuring a perennial MVP candidate (Nikola Jokic) and several other stars, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels was the best all-around player on the court, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
McDaniels put an exclamation point on his dominant two-way performance in Game 6, limiting Jamal Murray to 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting while registering a game-high 32 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 45 minutes. The 25-year-old also sealed the series-clinching victory with key baskets down the stretch, as Krawczynski details.
Several other Timberwolves stepped up on Thursday with Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles), Anthony Edwards (knee), Ayo Dosunmu (calf) and Kyle Anderson (illness) sidelined, including Terrence Shannon Jr. (24 points, six rebounds, two steals), Rudy Gobert (10 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks), and Naz Reid (17 points, seven rebounds, four assists).
But McDaniels was the driving force for Minnesota throughout the series, which saw the Wolves eliminate Denver from the playoffs for the second time in three years.
“He talked all series, and he backed it up all series,” head coach Chris Finch said. “And that’s called legitimate tough.”
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Timberwolves took the Nuggets’ late-season jockeying for position as a shot at them and used it as motivation throughout the hard-fought series, Troy Renck writes for the Denver Post. “Our guys took it personally. Denver had the chance to pick who they wanted to play coming down the stretch and they chose us,” coach Chris Finch said. “We used that as motivation in our preparation and all the way through the series.” Denver, in truth, seemed to try to avoid the Wolves by sitting several starters and limiting Jokic (who needed one more appearance to qualify for award consideration) to 18 minutes in its regular season finale, but its bench rose to the occasion and won anyway, setting up the familiar intra-divisional matchup.
- Ajay Mitchell didn’t realize he’d taken 20 shots for the Thunder in his Game 3 start until after the win, when he looked at the stat sheet, Justin Martinez writes for The Oklahoman (subscriber link). However, he knew that it was his job to be extra aggressive with Jalen Williams out, and he embraced that responsibility. “Ajay is one of the toughest dudes in the league,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Mentally, he’s never shaken. He’s never afraid of the moment. Ajay could be having the worst day ever, and you would never know. He’s so solid. Having a teammate like that makes you more confident by just knowing that no matter what, you know what you’re gonna get from him. The ball might not always go in, but you know what you’re getting from Ajay every time he steps on the floor.”
- The Trail Blazers took a big step in their team development by making the playoffs. Damian Lillard says it also became clear what the team needs heading into next season, Sean Meagher writes for The Oregonian. “I think the obvious thing is, you know, we just need to be a better shooting team,” Lillard said. “I think when you got a guy like Deni [Avdija], who’s constantly getting downhill and in the paint and, you know, forcing teams to have to help is going to generate good shots, you know, is going to generate opportunities. And we got to be able to capitalize on that. And you know I’m going to be in the paint. I’m gonna get around my guy. And teams are going to help. You know I know that I’ll get attention. And it’s going to lead to open shots as well.”
Rory Maher contributed to this post.
NBA Announces Schedule For Second Round Of Playoffs
The NBA has announced the schedule for the second round of the playoffs, which will feature a total of eight teams (four from each conference). Each series’ schedule is subject to change, per the league.
While we know the Western Conference semifinal matchups, the Eastern Conference matchups are still up in the air, with three first-round series going the full seven games. Boston and Philadelphia are playing on Saturday to determine New York’s second-round opponent. The other side of the Eastern bracket features Detroit/Orlando and Cleveland/Toronto, with both deciding games to be played on Sunday.
Below are the tentative schedules for all four series (all Twitter links here). All of the times listed are for the Eastern time zone. Games marked with an asterisk (*) are if necessary, and the times and TV broadcasts for those potential contests are to be determined.
Western Conference
No. 2 Spurs vs. No. 6 Timberwolves:
- Game 1: 5/4 at 9:30 pm on Peacock/NBCSN
- Game 2: 5/6 at 9:30 pm on ESPN
- Game 3: 5/8 at 9:30 pm on Prime
- Game 4: 5/10 at 7:30 pm on NBC/Peacock
- Game 5: 5/12*
- Game 6: 5/15*
- Game 7: 5/17*
No. 1 Thunder vs. No. 4 Lakers:
- Game 1: 5/5 at 8:30 pm on NBC/Peacock
- Game 2: 5/7 at 9:30 pm on Prime
- Game 3: 5/9 at 8:30 pm on ABC
- Game 4: 5/11 at 10:30 pm on Prime
- Game 5: 5/13*
- Game 6: 5/16*
- Game 7: 5/18*
Eastern Conference
No. 3 Knicks vs. No. 2 Celtics OR No. 7 Sixers
- Game 1: 5/4 at 8:00 pm on NBC/Peacock
- Game 2: 5/6 at 7:00 pm on ESPN
- Game 3: 5/8 at 7:00 pm on Prime
- Game 4: 5/10 at 3:30 pm on ABC
- Game 5: 5/12*
- Game 6: 5/14*
- Game 7: 5/17*
No. 1 Pistons OR No. 8 Magic vs. No. 4 Cavaliers OR No. 5 Raptors
- Game 1: 5/5 at 7:00 pm on Peacock/NBCSN
- Game 2: 5/7 at 7:00 pm on Prime
- Game 3: 5/9 at 3:00 pm on NBC/Peacock
- Game 4: 5/11 at 8:00 pm on NBC/Peacock
- Game 5: 5/13*
- Game 6: 5/15*
- Game 7: 5/17*