When the Dallas Mavericks concluded their 2025-2026 campaign \u2014 one of the worst seasons in franchise history with a 26-56 record \u2014 all eyes turned to the NBA draft. Fans are hoping the team can notch a top pick like they did last season when their 1.9% chance to get the No. 1 pick turned into reality in May.<\/p>\n
At 3 p.m. E.T. on Sunday, they\u2019ll have a chance, and a better one than they had last year, to repeat history.<\/p>\n
Dallas has the 8th-best odds of claiming the No. 1 overall pick, coming in at 6.7%. The Mavericks have a 29.0% chance t0 move into the top four picks. Mavericks legend Rolando Blackman and co-general manager Matt Ricardi will be representing the team in Chicago for the lottery. The duo also represented the Mavericks at last year\u2019s draft lottery.<\/p>\n
It is most likely the team will remain at No. 8 (32.9%) or drop one slot to No. 9 (31.1%), and there is a slim chance the team drops to No. 10 (6.6%). If the team gets incredibly unlucky, there is a 0.4% chance they could fall to 11, and a less than 0.1% chance they fall to 12.<\/p>\n
Cut all the math out of it and it comes to this \u2014 if you flip a coin twice and it comes up heads both teams, that\u2019s about the likelihood of Dallas jumping to the top 4.<\/p>\n
All 14 non-playoff teams are entered into the lottery every year to decide which teams get the top four picks. After the lottery, the rest of the first round goes in reverse order of record. The worst three teams each get a 14% chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick and the odds go down from there.<\/p>\n