May 2026

There were 588 posts published in May 2026 (this is page 34 of 59).

2026 NBA Draft Lottery: odds, date, time, top prospects, how it works, future format

The NBA Draft Lottery is less than a week away. The Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets each have the highest odds — 14% — in the lottery to land the No. 1 pick in what is expected to be a loaded draft. Recent years also have seen a number of teams jump bottom of the lottery into the top three of the draft, including the Dallas Mavericks, who won the lottery last year and earned the right to take the future Rookie of the Year, Cooper Flagg.

The defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who had the best record for the second season in a row, could even win the lottery. They own the Los Angeles Clippers’ pick courtesy of the Paul George trade.

This figures to be the final NBA Draft Lottery in its current format before the league likely puts a new system in place for next season in an effort to reduce teams tanking for better odds. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 including, the top prospects.

NBA mock drafts: 3.0 • 2.0 • 1.0 | NBA Draft combine participants

The lottery is at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, May 10. It will be at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center and coincides with the draft combine.

It will be on ABC, ahead of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.

The 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs have a chance to land the No. 1 pick. The teams that finished with the three-worst records — Washington, Indiana and Brooklyn — each have the highest odds (14%) at winning the No. 1 pick.

Here are the odds for every team in the draft lottery, based on team records at the end of the regular season. Teams that finished the season with identical records had their draft order determined by a random drawing.

Record: 17-65
Odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

Record: 19-63
Odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

Due to the Ivica Zubac trade with the Clippers, if the Pacers’ pick lands between the 5-9 spots on lotto night, it will go to L.A.

Record: 20-62
Odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

Record: 22-60
Odds for No. 1 pick: 11.5%

Record: 22-60
Odds for No. 1 pick: 11.5%

Record: 25-57
Odds for No. 1 pick: 9%

Record: 26-56
Odds for No. 1 pick: 6.8%

The Pelicans owe their unprotected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks as part of their 2025 draft-night trade.

Record: 26-56
Odds for No. 1 pick: 6.7%

Record: 31-51
Odds for No. 1 pick: 4.5%

Record: 32-50
Odds for No. 1 pick: 3%

Record: 37-45
Odds for No. 1 pick: 2%

Record: 42-40
Odds for No. 1 pick: 1.5%

The Clippers owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Thunder as part of the 2019 Paul George trade.

Record: 43-39
Odds for No. 1 pick: 1%

Record: 44-38
Odds for No. 1 pick: 0.5%

The draft lottery determines the order of the first 14 picks. It takes place in a private room with NBA officials, representatives of participating teams, select media and the accounting firm Ernst & Young, which oversees the drawings, in attendance.

For the drawings, 14 ping-pong balls (numbered 1 through 14) are dropped in a lottery machine. Before the lottery, 1,000 of a possible 1,001 combinations are assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams. A league representative randomly selects four balls, revealing a four-number combination.

From the NBA:

The drawing process occurs in the following manner: All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.

If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is selected. Also, if the one unassigned combination is drawn, the result is discarded and the balls are drawn again.

After the first four picks are determined, the remaining picks are based on regular-season records, in reverse order.

FIRST ROUND NOS. 15-30

15. Portland (to Chicago)

16. Phoenix (to Memphis)

17. Philadelphia (to Oklahoma City)

18. Orlando (to Charlotte)

19. Toronto

20. Atlanta (to San Antonio)

21. Minnesota (to Detroit)

22. Houston (to Philadelphia)

23. Cleveland (to Atlanta)

24. New York

25. Los Angeles Lakers

26. Denver

27. Boston

28. Detroit (to Minnesota)

29. San Antonio (to Cleveland)

30. Oklahoma City (to Dallas)

Dybantsa could become one of the NBA’s most unstoppable shot-creators. At 6-foot-9, he has a special blend of athletic tools with the way he bends, shifts, and explodes with the ball in his hands. Dybantsa led the nation with 25.5 points per game while breaking Danny Ainge’s 48-year-old BYU freshman scoring record with a 43-point eruption. He gets to the rim at will, cooks in the midrange, draws fouls at a high rate, and displays point-forward potential. What will determine his upside is whether he can become a knockdown 3-point shooter, as well as a more impactful defender to take full advantage of his physical tools. But the native of Brockton, Massachusetts, has a tremendously high floor with his scoring skill alone. — Kevin O’Connor

He’s a do-it-all offensive talent who can post up, run pick-and-rolls, set screens, spot up and crash the boards. He doesn’t need to rely on bully ball to make an impact as a scorer or passer. Defensively, some of the questions about Boozer popped up in Duke’s Elite Eight loss to UConn: He wasn’t big enough to defend Tarris Reed, and he got smoked by Alex Karaban on a key 3-pointer on the perimeter. But he plays hard and has improved at every weakness in his game so far. — O’Connor

He can pull up from anywhere and get to his spots. Plus he’s 6-6 and plays with a fluidity that just screams superstar. Not to mention he’s a defensive playmaker with the tools to guard multiple positions and the approach to impact the game even if he’s not scoring. Between the cramping saga, the missed time, the lack of apparent athletic pop, and the stretches where he played heavy minutes but struggled to produce offensively, there’s a lot to be concerned about. But the pre-draft period could answer any questions. — O’Connor

Wilson is the most gifted athlete in the draft class. He’s 6-10 with springs for legs. When he’s flying above the rim, finishing through contact, and chasing down every shot in his area code, he looks like a future franchise cornerstone. But the conversation changes when you watch his jumper because he hasn’t shown any consistency as a shooter at any level. Still, even without the jumper, he has star upside. — O’Connor

Acuff is not the biggest guard or the most explosive athlete, but he reads defenses like someone who’s been in the league for a decade. He emerged as a freshman as a skilled, low-turnover playmaker. And that’s not even what he’s best at. Acuff is a wiry scorer who can get a bucket from anywhere on the floor with a quick trigger, slippery handle, and a feel for manipulating defenses. He has a knack for clutch moments too. The question that follows every undersized guard into the draft is whether the brilliance survives contact with bigger, longer, faster defenders. — O’Connor

The 2026 NBA Draft will again be two days: Tuesday, June 23 for the first round; and Wednesday, June 24 for the second round. Both rounds are in Brooklyn, New York.

ABC/ESPN will broadcast the first round, and the second round will be on ESPN.

Almost certainly. NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants to curb the wide-spread tanking teams engaged in ahead of this season’s draft.

The league reportedly will put forth a new 3-2-1 format for a vote by team owners on May 28. The new format will create a system where each team gets a certain number of ping-pong balls to win the No. 1 pick. Here’s how it looks in reverse order of the standings and then play-in game participants:

  • No. 1-3: two ping-pong balls (5.4%)

  • No. 4-10: three ping-pong balls (8.1%)

  • Teams in 9-10 play-in games: two ping-pong balls (5.4%)

  • Losers of 7-8 play-in games: one ping-pong ball (2.7%)

The league hopes non-playoff teams will be incentivized to stay competitive late in the season. It also provides the No. 8 seeds in the East and West at least one shot at the top pick.

In addition, the league will not allow teams to win the top pick in back-to-back seasons or win a top-five pick in three consecutive seasons.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse reportedly steps away from team Tuesday for brother’s funeral

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse stepped away from the team on Tuesday to attend the funeral of his brother, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Steve Nurse, 62, reportedly died unexpectedly last Wednesday, the day before the Sixers’ Game 6 against the Boston Celtics in the first round. His brother’s team went on to complete a historic 3-1 comeback to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Nick reportedly traveled from New York to his hometown of Carroll, Iowa, on Monday night, following the Sixers’ Game 1 loss against the New York Knicks. He is expected to rejoin the team later Tuesday.

In Nurse’s absence, the Sixers reportedly held a film session on Tuesday but did not practice. They are scheduled to face the Knicks in Game 2 on Wednesday in New York (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Nurse, who won an NBA title with the Toronto Raptors in 2018-19, is in his third season with the Sixers. This is the farthest they have been in the playoffs during his tenure after posting a 45-37 record in the regular season and advancing through the NBA play-in tournament.

Bob Skinner, former Pirates outfielder and coach who won 2 World Series with club, dies at 94

Former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder and coach Bob Skinner has died, the club confirmed Tuesday. He was 94 years old.

Skinner won two World Series with the club, first as a player on the 1960 championship team that took down the New York Yankees and then as a coach for the 1979 Pirates squad that beat the Baltimore Orioles.

Skinner was a three-time All-Star and also won a World Series while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964.

The former outfielder was born in La Jolla, California, on Oct. 3, 1931. He played baseball growing up and was signed by the Pirates after being scouted by Tom Downey.

Early in his career, the left-handed swing from Skinner garnered plenty of attention. Branch Rickey, who was the manager of the Pirates when Skinner came up, said that the outfielder was “absolutely the best natural hitter I have seen in many years.”

Skinner played one year of pro ball before service in the United States Marine Corps paused his minor league career from 1951 through 1953. He finally made his debut with the Pirates in 1954. His career lasted 12 seasons.

After retiring from playing, he had a year off before becoming the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968, despite having no prior coaching experience. Skinner led the Phillies to a 48-59 record in 1968 and a 44-64 record in 1969 before resigning. He chose to step away from the job because of difficulties with star player Dick Allen, though his decision was admired by reporters at the time. Columnist Jimmy Cannon said of Skinner resigning, “He went down with style because he refused to maim his dignity as a man. There aren’t many men in baseball who would make this choice. The world is short of them.”

Pirates chairman Bob Nutting released a statement Tuesday honoring Skinner.

“As a member of the 1960 World Series championship team, Bob was an important part of one of the most beloved teams in our storied history and helped deliver a moment that will forever be woven into the fabric of our city.

Bob was a talented player, a proud Pirate and a respected member of the baseball community. On behalf of the entire Pirates organization, we extend our deepest condolences to Bob’s family, friends and all those who knew and loved him.”

Skinner only served as a manager one more time. He was the interim manager for the San Diego Padres for one game in their 1977 season — a win — after John McNamara resigned and Alvin Dark was named the manager for the remainder of the season.

The unthinkable: Shohei Ohtani shows even he has limits

The Shohei Ohtani experience is changing before our eyes.

On Tuesday evening, the Dodgers’ two-way superstar will take the mound against the Houston Astros. He will do so as MLB’s most effective starting pitcher. Ohtani’s microscopic 0.60 ERA tops the sport. In 30 innings of work, he has yet to surrender a home run. Opponents currently hold a .160 batting average, a .226 slugging percentage and a .464 OPS; marks that rank second, first and first respectively.

No matter how you slice it, there is no doubting Ohtani’s hilltop brilliance in his first fully healthy pitching season since 2023. If he stays off the shelf, continues performing at this pace and reaches 160 or so innings, a first-career Cy Young is very much in play.

But at Ohtani’s other job, the main one, the one he works almost every day, things aren’t going as smoothly. At the plate, the four-time MVP is off to one of the slowest offensive starts of his Hall-of-Fame career. His .814 OPS sits 54th among qualified hitters, his .240 batting average 103rd. A whopping 37 players have more home runs than Ohtani’s six. He is rocking a career low line-drive rate. He has gone deep just once since April 12. He is hitless in his last 17 at-bats.

He is searching, he is scuffling.

And so, for the third time in his last four pitching starts Ohtani will not hit Tuesday. 

That was, quite notably, not the original plan. Manager Dave Roberts told assembled reporters before Monday’s game that Ohtani would be in the lineup as a hitter the following day. But the skipper changed course after watching his key man skunk toward another hitless night.

“Just kind of seeing how things are going, and then I just felt that, in my mind, just kind of seeing how it’s playing out, I think it’s best for everyone,” Roberts told reporters, including The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett. “Definitely not [based on] results. It’s a little bit more body language and just watching the player.”

Shohei Ohtani is having a Cy Young-type season on the mound, but he is struggling at the plate. (Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

During Ohtani’s six seasons in Anaheim, he was the master of his fate, the captain of his soul. He dictated his schedule to the club, who ceded to Ohtani’s preferences more often than not. The undermanned Angels had no other choice; they needed every last swing, every last pitch from their singular superstar.

But things are playing out differently in DodgerTown.

Ohtani no longer appears to be at the wheel. Dodger leadership — Roberts, president of baseball operation Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes — are running the show. And that group has been refreshingly straightforward about their intentions regarding Ohtani’s two-way duties.

“I do feel like we’ve shown by sitting him a couple times already on days that he pitches that we’re trying to, you know, manage the workload,” Roberts told reporters Monday.

“It doesn’t make sense for him to go wire-to-wire [as both a] pitcher and hitter, playing every day and pitching every week. That’s hard,” Friedman explained to AM 570 LA Sports last weekend.

Ohtani, for his part, is going along with the plan. That’s no surprise for the agreeable 31-year-old, who rarely, if ever, offers anything resembling discontent. During his weekly media availability — unlike all other players in MLB, he speaks to the media only after he pitches — Ohtani is reliably unrevealing often to a comical degree. His answers, given in English through interpreter Will Ireton, are usually full of empty jargon geared toward avoiding controversy at all costs.

“I’m always going to respect the decision, regardless of if I’m pitching or doing both,” Ohtani said, via Ireton, following his most recent start. “Talking with the training staff, talking with the team, I think it’s really important that the team makes the decision about what’s good for the team.”

An endorsement, yes, but not exactly a passionate one. Ohtani hasn’t publicly confessed whether he prefers hitting or sitting when he pitches. Perhaps he genuinely doesn’t have a predilection either way, perhaps he’s being respectful and deferential to his superiors. But based upon how he opted to handle things in Anaheim, it’s reasonable to assume that Ohtani would like to hit, at least until he vocalizes otherwise.

For now, however, the Dodgers are focused on the long game. Ensuring Ohtani is at full strength for October is priority No. 1. They will, at some point, need to re-familiarize Ohtani with doing both in the same game, if that’s how Los Angeles expects to strategize things in the postseason. 

That problem is months away. For now, the Dodgers can keep on keeping on, as long as Ohtani doesn’t get restless. Given the club’s threepeat-or-bust mentality, it’s a rational course of action, even if it means the game’s most unique player will be incrementally less unique.

Still, it’s unusual to think about Ohtani as restricted, in any way, shape or form. He has always been, except for the occasional torn elbow ligament, completely limitless. Time and time again, Ohtani scoffed at baseball’s physical boundaries, making our expectations of him more and more preposterous as he goes. 

That’s what makes this recent, seemingly minuscule development feel notable. Whatever the real reason — age, underperformance, Dodger-Think, a combination — Ohtani is being restrained. It’s a reminder, too, that he can’t do this forever. Time always wins. As such, concessions will need to be made. In fact, they’re already being made. 

Ohtani remains the most remarkable character in the sport. That he is seriously in contention for the Cy Young a season after clobbering 55 home runs is astonishing. His bat will get clicking any day now. He is still the game’s most valuable player. Nobody else in baseball is in his hemisphere of superstardom. 

And yet, even the limitless have limits.

Pirates manager Don Kelly, pitcher Chris Devenski suspended by MLB for throwing at Reds rookie Sal Stewart

The Pittsburgh Pirates will open Tuesday’s series against the Arizona Diamondbacks without their manager. Don Kelly was suspended by MLB for one game after the league determined Pirates pitcher Chris Devenski intentionally threw at Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart during Saturday’s game.

Devenski was both fined and suspended for his actions. He initially received a three-game suspension from the league, but quickly agreed to a settlement that knocked it down to two games.

Because of that settlement, both Devenski’s and Kelly’s suspensions will begin Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the seventh inning of the Pirates’ 17-7 win over the Reds on Saturday. With the Pirates up 15-6, Devenski threw a fastball way inside to Stewart, nearly hitting the rookie. Stewart took exception to the pitch, causing the umpires to meet and eventually throw Devenski out of the game.

It’s unclear what prompted Devenski to throw at Stewart, though it may have had something to do with whether Stewart was in the batter’s box at the proper time before the at-bat.

Following the contest, crew chief Alan Porter cited that as a reason the umpires decided to throw Devenski out of the game, per MLB.com.

“We had the situation leading up to it with [Devenski] stepping off the rubber and [Stewart] stepping out of the box,” Porter said Saturday in a pool report. “Still had time and stepped out. After that, [Devenski] stepped up, fired the pitch and we believe threw it at him intentionally. That’s why we ejected him.”

While the Reds’ rookie is in the midst of a strong season, he went 0-for-13 vs. the Pirates during the series.

Devenski denied intentionally throwing at Stewart, telling MLB.com he was trying to pitch inside and Stewart “took it the wrong way.”

Given that both teams are in the same division, Devenski and Stewart have multiple chances to face each other again this season.

The earliest that can occur is June 26, the next time the Pirates and Reds are scheduled to play.

Where to watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Houston Astros: Live stream, start time, TV channel, odds for Tuesday, May 5

The Los Angeles Dodgers, ranked first in the NL West with a 22-13 record, face the Houston Astros, who are fourth in the AL West with a 14-22 record. Starting pitchers are Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers, with a 0.60 ERA, and Peter Lambert for the Astros, with a 3.52 ERA.

  • Date: Tuesday, May 5

  • Time: 8:10 p.m. ET / 5:10 p.m. PT

  • Where: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

  • TV Channels: TBS, Space City Home Network, Space City Home Network (Sp), SportsNet LA

  • Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

  • Los Angeles Dodgers: 22-13 (first in NL West)

  • Houston Astros: 14-22 (fourth in AL West)

  • Spread: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5

  • Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers -220 / Houston Astros +180

  • Over/under: 8.5

Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (2-1, ERA: 0.60, K: 34, WHIP: 0.87)

Houston Astros: Peter Lambert (1-2, ERA: 3.52, K: 19, WHIP: 1.24)

Weather: 81°F at first pitch

Where to watch Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees: Live stream, start time, TV channel, odds for Tuesday, May 5

The Texas Rangers, ranked third in the AL West with a 16-18 record, face the New York Yankees, who are first in the AL East with a 24-11 record. Starting pitchers are Jacob deGrom for Texas, with a 2.01 ERA, and Elmer Rodríguez for New York, with a 4.50 ERA.

  • Date: Tuesday, May 5

  • Time: 7:05 p.m. ET / 4:05 p.m. PT

  • Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

  • TV Channels: YES, Rangers Sports Network

  • Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

  • Texas Rangers: 16-18 (third in AL West)

  • New York Yankees: 24-11 (first in AL East)

  • Spread: New York Yankees -1.5

  • Moneyline: New York Yankees -125 / Texas Rangers +105

  • Over/under: 9

Texas Rangers: Jacob deGrom (2-1, ERA: 2.01, K: 40, WHIP: 0.96)

New York Yankees: Elmer Rodríguez (0-1, ERA: 4.50, K: 3, WHIP: 2.00)

Weather: 74°F at first pitch