On May 10th, 2026, the Indiana Pacers held their collective breath and watched as the Washington Wizards jumped them to claim the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. With that leap, the Pacers fell to fifth and sent their pick to the LA Clippers as a result of the earlier Ivica Zubac trade.
The trade remains an absolute win. Zubac fits the exact need of a Pacers team whose only real hole was the center spot after the departure of Myles Turner. Keaton Wagler, the player the Clippers drafted, also failed to show very much throughout the summer league.
However, those top four picks all look like serious difference makers, and any of them would have changed Indiana's outlook significantly.
With that in mind, it's completely fair for fans to ask "what if?"
The past and the Pacers
The biggest what-if in Pacers history is often between three different options: The Malice at the Palace, Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles tear in Game 7 of the 2024-25 NBA Finals, and Paul George's shattered leg in the 2014 Olympic preparations.
Each of those three is devastating in its own right, but they are all devastating in similar ways. They are failed promises of expectations that were never realized. Malice at the Palace took away the last dregs of the early 2000s Pacers' title window. Haliburton may never return to the level he was at, and this team could crumble to dust like the Paul George era already did.
However, the same cannot be said about the draft lottery fall.
Instead of it being a taste of something that never came, it was an exercise in futility. Indiana couldn't even be allowed to draft a bust. They lost the pick, and in an instant, the pain of a dreadful year that fans had endured was proven pointless.
It wasn't a show of shattered reality, but of a reality that never came to pass.
And that hurts pretty bad too.
Fits forgotten on lottery night
While any of the top four options would've been fantastic in Indiana, there are two that stand out above the rest.
Cameron Boozer would have been incredible as a supersized small forward. While the foot speed would've been a little worrying to guard smaller wings, he fits the Pacers' play style beautifully. As a passer and a driver, he would've been everything Jarace Walker was supposed to be and more.
Darryn Peterson would've been the high-octane scorer that this team still lacks. His ego may have gotten in the way of his willingness to play within this system, and his on-ball nature alongside Tyrese could've fizzled out, but the ideal version of it could have been magnificent.
Even AJ Dybantsa or Caleb Wilson would have been fantastic Pacers, from a playstyle and personality sense. They could have added to a young core that Indiana is preparing for a potential pivot.
Instead, the team spent the summer scouting second-rounders and trading up for Braden Smith. Instead of extreme hype, there is now only desperation and fear that this team will be fighting an uphill battle.
That terrible night in May is already a terrible moment of star-prevented opportunity, even without a single game played from any recent draftee.
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