NBA Draft returns to Brooklyn as Washington lands No. 1 pick

The NBA Draft arrived in Brooklyn with more pressure than pageantry. Washington won the lottery and walked into Barclays Center with the No. 1 pick, giving the Wizards a rare chance to reset their timeline as the league opened its first major offseason swing after the Finals.

The draft was scheduled over two nights, with the first round set for June 23 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN and the second round on June 24 on ESPN. It marked the 80th year of the NBA Draft and continued the two-night format the league began in 2024, a setup that has turned the event into a longer decision point for teams balancing immediate help, long-term upside and roster fit.

Washington’s position mattered because the top of the class has been widely viewed as one of the most promising in years. ESPN’s final big board placed Darryn Peterson at No. 1 and AJ Dybantsa at No. 2, giving the Wizards a choice that could reshape the franchise around a potential centerpiece. The draft board ran through 60 selections, but the No. 1 spot carried the most weight for a team trying to climb out of the middle.

The lottery that set the order was held May 10 at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. That same stretch in Chicago also included the NBA Draft Combine from May 10-17, followed by the June 13 withdrawal deadline for early-entry players, a sequence that narrowed the field before teams finalized their boards. For clubs chasing a shortcut back to relevance, every one of those dates sharpened the same question: who can help now, and who might be worth waiting on?

The answer became even more urgent after the reported Giannis Antetokounmpo trade to Miami. In the deal, Milwaukee was said to have received Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, Bobby Portis and multiple first-round picks, including No. 13, a package that immediately changed the Bucks’ draft posture. Milwaukee suddenly had to retool around draft capital and flexibility, while the Heat signaled an all-in pursuit of another title.

That trade also widened the draft’s stakes beyond Washington. Teams with no first-round pick this year included Houston, New Orleans, Phoenix, Portland, Orlando and Indiana, a reminder that the night’s biggest moves would not only come from the podium but also from the front offices trying to keep pace with a shifting title map. In Brooklyn, the draft was no longer just about adding talent. It was about which franchises could alter their direction before the season even turned over.