Kevin Pritchard's "Really Sorry" Isn't Enough: The Pacers Just Lost Their Lottery Pick and Fans Are Done

The Indiana Pacers finished with the second-worst record in the NBA this season at 19-63, right behind Washington's 18-64 disaster. You'd think that kind of losing would guarantee you a top pick to rebuild around. You'd be wrong. After the draft lottery drew on Sunday, the Pacers watched their first-round pick slip all the way to fifth and head straight to the LA Clippers. And Kevin Pritchard, the team's president of basketball operations, could only post an apology on X: "I'm really sorry to all our fans."

The Trade That Came Back to Haunt Indiana

Here's what went down. Back in February, Pritchard swung a deal to acquire center Ivica Zubac from the Clippers. The cost? Two first-round picks, including this year's pick with protections. The idea was solid on paper: add a starting-caliber center, compete with the league's best teams next season. The problem is the Pacers tanked harder than anyone expected, and those lottery odds caught up with them fast. Indiana needed to land in the top four to keep the pick. They didn't. Pick number five went straight to LA.

When Luck Doesn't Show Up

Pritchard tried to own the decision, tweeting that he thought "we were due some luck" this year. The Pacers, Washington, and Brooklyn all finished with equal lottery odds at the start: 14% to win the top pick, and 52% to land somewhere in the top four. But the wheel didn't spin Indy's way. Washington took home the number one overall pick. The Pacers got nothing.

Pritchard's message to fans was that the team "deserved a starting center to compete," and that resilience runs deep in Indiana's DNA. Maybe so. But losing a lottery pick in a season this brutal? That's a tough pill to swallow, and no amount of apologies on social media changes that math.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.