The Memphis Grizzlies will pick No. 3 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft after the lottery results were revealed on May 10. Memphis entered the day with the sixth-best odds to win the No. 1 pick, but instead jumped into the top three for the first time in franchise history.
The result gives the memphis grizzlies three picks in the top 35, including No. 3, No. 16 and No. 32 overall, making Memphis the only NBA team with that many selections in that range. The 2026 NBA Draft will be held June 23 and 24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Tayshaun Prince represented the team on stage during the lottery presentation, while Zach Kleiman was in the drawing room for Memphis during the process. The Grizzlies had a 37.2% chance to land in the top four, but their most likely outcomes were No. 7 at 29.7% and No. 8 at 20.6%, which is where they had been expected to land before the lottery reshuffled the board.
The pick is the latest significant draft slot for a team that has rarely landed high in the lottery. Memphis has had the No. 2 pick five times, but only twice since the franchise moved to Memphis in 2001, and it has never held the No. 1 pick. Its previous lottery picks with its own selection came in 2019, when it drafted Ja Morant No. 2 overall, and in 2024, when it took Zach Edey ninth overall.
The new draft position adds weight to a pivotal stretch for the franchise, especially as the team looks ahead to a summer that could shape its next core. With the draft set for late June and three selections in the top 35, Memphis now has the kind of draft capital that can change the direction of a roster quickly.
