{"id":173378,"date":"2026-01-19T13:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T18:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=173378"},"modified":"2026-01-19T13:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T18:36:09","slug":"the-nba-tank-race-is-heating-up-bottom-six-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/19\/the-nba-tank-race-is-heating-up-bottom-six-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"The NBA Tank Race Is Heating Up: Bottom Six Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The great NBA Tank race<\/a> is officially underway. While the majority of teams are still fighting for a postseason position, a few teams are competing for better odds in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. This season, the bottom-six teams in the league are all neck-and-neck to see who can come in last.<\/p>\n

The NBA Tank Race Is Heating Up: Bottom Six Preview<\/h2>\n

The New Orleans Pelicans, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets, and Utah Jazz are looking to crack the bottom-three positions to secure the highest chance possible at the number one overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft<\/a>. Let’s dive into each team, their strength of schedule remaining (via Tankathon<\/a>), and predict where each team will land.<\/p>\n

New Orleans Pelicans<\/h3>\n

Current Record: 10-35, 30 out of 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prediction: ATL Gets First<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Pelicans have found themselves in a horrible situation<\/a>. Going into this season, the team looked like a true Cinderella after acquiring Jordan Poole<\/a> from the Wizards before the season started<\/a>. However, injuries have once again plagued them, and they now sit at the bottom of the league, with the worst yet to come.<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Hawks have the Pelicans’ 2026 first-round pick<\/a> after trading with them on draft night to draft future cornerstone Derik Queen<\/a>. Unfortunately, the losses keep piling up, and with no first-round pick this year, it may be a while before it’s worth attending another game in Smoothie King Center.<\/p>\n

A-Town has a great chance to secure a top-three position, with NOLA already being at least one game back from everyone, and having the 11th hardest schedule remaining in the league. The Hawks will be the first lock of one of the top three spots.<\/p>\n

Indiana Pacers<\/h3>\n

Current Record: 10-33, 29 out of 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prediction: Fourth<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Pacers are in a much better position than some may expect. Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> was a top-five guard last season, and had he not torn his ACL, Indiana could’ve brought a title back to Indianapolis. With Haliburton, the Pacers were going to be bad, but then losing Myles Turner<\/a> in free agency, it was obvious they would be in contention for the lottery. They get Haliburton back next season, and with a top pick, could be a very formidable playoff squad.<\/p>\n

Currently, Indiana sits two games back from next in line. However, with Bennedict Mathurin<\/a> and Obi Toppin<\/a> returning soon, the Pacers will soon be back to full(ish) strength. With the 17th hardest schedule left, they have some big games coming up that could decide where they land.<\/p>\n

They play two games each against Washington, Utah, and Brooklyn, and with the roster returning to a healthier situation, they could move slightly around the end of the season. In turn, they aren’t a lock for the top three, but fourth is the highest they would go.<\/p>\n

Washington Wizards<\/h3>\n

Current Record: 10-31, T-27 out of 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prediction: Second<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jumping to a completely different spot, Washington is still in rebuild mode<\/a>. Adding another top-eight pick secures them a real shot at competing next season, but win too much, and that pick goes to the New York Knicks if you climb higher than 22nd in the league. As a result, their recent acquisition<\/a>, four-time NBA All-Star Trae Young<\/a>, may not play much, if at all<\/a>, the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n

Washington is currently tied with Sacramento for the 28th spot in the league, but don’t expect that to be the case in April. The Wizards have the 13th hardest remaining schedule this season, and with the way things have been since the blockbuster<\/a>, don’t expect many wins to come their way.<\/p>\n

Those two games against the Pacers are huge, but some others would help Washington secure a bottom-three spot. Their season series against the Jazz hasn’t started, and two games each against the Nets and Hornets could secure them a 14% chance in the lottery for the first pick. Next to New Orleans, Washington is bound to finish in the bottom-three, giving them the second lock of three.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Sacramento Kings<\/h3>\n

Current Record: 12-31, T-27 out of 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prediction: Sixth or Higher<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Kings being down this low has been a real surprise. Meaning, do not expect them to be this low when the season is over. They’ve won four of their last six games and are slowly reintegrating three-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis<\/a> back into the lineup. Soon, at full strength, they will no doubt climb higher and could even sneak into the Play-In.<\/p>\n

Additionally, they have the fourth-easiest schedule remaining, which should propel them into the postseason conversation. Not only do they not earn a lock, but they earn the exact opposite. Do not expect the Kings to finish anywhere near the bottom-three. If they do, expect massive changes over the offseason.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Nets<\/h3>\n

Current Record: 12-28, 26 out of 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prediction: Third<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Nets are one of the most confusing teams in the league at the moment. While being incredibly low, there have been some positives for Brooklyn this season. Michael Porter Jr<\/a> is playing at an All-Star level<\/a> and could be in a position to win Most Improved for his efforts, and Egor Demin<\/a> has shown flashes of what he could become. However, expect much of the same as the season comes to a close.<\/p>\n

The Nets have the seventh-hardest schedule remaining. It’s going to be a brutal battle as the season churns on. The Nets are currently right in the middle of the league’s tank race, sitting a game and a half back from Utah and a game and a half up on the Kings.<\/p>\n

Their destiny has a negative outlook, and it works for them. They can right the wrongs of the 2025 draft with a great selection for this upcoming draft. With such a rough schedule ahead, it could play benefit to some other tanking squads they will see. Those against the Pacers and Wizards will be big, and they have one remaining against the Jazz as well. However, even if they sweep those, don’t expect them to rise any higher, giving them the last lock in the bottom-three teams.<\/p>\n

Utah Jazz<\/h3>\n

Current Record: 14-28, 25 out of 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prediction: Fifth<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Jazz have had some positives climb from the rubble of this season, much like Washington and Brooklyn. Lauri Markkanen<\/a> has had a season to remember, upping his trade value<\/a> in the process. While Ace Bailey<\/a> hasn’t panned out great so far, third-year pro Keyonte George<\/a> made yet another jump and looks to solidify a long-term spot in Utah. All in all, things could certainly be going worse.<\/p>\n

The Jazz have a relatively easy schedule for the remainder of the season. Coming in at the ninth easiest, they will be a middle-of-the-pack team as the season passes the halfway mark. Some crucial games for them include the ones already mentioned, as well as three matchups with the Pelicans. They won’t breeze through the competition, but expect around a 50\/50 second half of the season.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h3>\n

These teams are all competing for the best players in an absolutely monstrous draft class. Darryn Peterson<\/a>, AJ Dybansta<\/a>, and Cameron Boozer<\/a> headline a class that puts the 2025 draft to shame. The Hawks (Pelicans), Wizards, and Nets should be the three teams in the bottom three at the end, but that doesn’t mean they will be. The lottery doesn’t play favorites; everyone knows that. Every team will be looking to get one of these picks, but not everyone can tank like these franchises mentioned.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 David Banks-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The great NBA Tank race is officially underway. While the majority of teams are still fighting for a postseason position, a few teams are competing for better odds in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. This season, the bottom-six teams in the league are all neck-and-neck to see who can come in last. The NBA Tank […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5480,"featured_media":154542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,6,11,62,556,33,29,24,18],"tags":[49942],"class_list":["post-173378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nets","category-pacers","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-pelicans","category-kings","category-jazz","category-wizards","tag-2026-nba-draft"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173378"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173450,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173378\/revisions\/173450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}