After the Philadelphia 76ers traded Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in February, the key to their return was the 2026 first-round pick belonging to the Houston Rockets. With the 82-game regular season now complete across all 30 NBA teams, the Sixers know exactly where that pick lands: No. 22 or No. 23 overall. Philadelphia used the 16th selection to draft McCain in 2024, and now the asset they received in his place will fall several spots lower.
Houston finished at 52-30, tying them with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland’s 2026 first-round pick is owed to the Atlanta Hawks. Because of the identical records, the NBA will hold a random drawing in the coming weeks, essentially a coin toss, to determine whether the Sixers or the Hawks pick at No. 22 and which takes No. 23. Along with the Rockets’ first-rounder, Philadelphia received a 2027 second-round pick and two 2028 second-round picks in the deal.
After the trade deadline, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said the team had pursued a rotation upgrade involving the Rockets’ pick immediately after acquiring it, but could not strike a deal.
“It could be used for moves around the draft,” he said. “The three seconds that we got with it, we think could be used to move up in this draft.”
He added that the trade gives Philadelphia more flexibility going forward. “This just gives us more tools to make the moves that we think will help our future more than we saw in Jared, who we gave up. But that’s not a comment on Jared.”
The Sixers have a good recent history with draft tiebreakers:
2024: Won a four-way tie, picked No. 16 overall (Jared McCain)
2020: Won a three-way tie, picked No. 21 overall (Tyrese Maxey) https://t.co/ClCtDvm36I
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) April 13, 2026
The 2026 draft class is widely considered elite, and not just at the top, where four players could go first overall in an average year. The depth runs throughout the board. Many believe picks in the range where the Sixers will select carry value comparable to late-lottery selections in a typical class.
The trade was rooted in a backcourt logjam. Tyrese Maxey is the franchise’s star guard, and the Sixers plan on having VJ Edgecombe, who was drafted in the top three, flanking him for years. That left McCain battling Quentin Grimes for minutes. The front office chose Grimes, even though Grimes will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, while McCain was still on a rookie contract. The pressure is now on Philadelphia to bring Grimes back, or they risk losing him on the open market.
McCain’s numbers climbed in Oklahoma City. He is shooting 40 percent from three-point range on 4.6 attempts per game in just under 18 minutes of action for the defending champions. As a rookie in Philadelphia, he had looked like an elite sixth man, an efficient scorer who was in the Rookie of the Year conversation before a season-ending injury cut that campaign short. Charles Barkley was as confused as the fanbase about the deal, questioning why the organization moved a player who had proved himself that quickly.
One mock draft projects the Sixers selecting Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr. with the pick. Johnson has been rising on NBA draft boards because of his size, physicality, and increasing two-way versatility. Philadelphia needs center depth behind Joel Embiid, and Johnson could fill that role while serving as an enforcer in bigger lineups alongside Embiid. He is a gritty, athletic forward who would bring toughness to a bench unit that needs a lift. The Sixers could use a guard at this spot, but given where the pick falls, big men and athletic wings are the more likely options.
Morey has found talent in this range before. He selected Maxey with the 21st pick in 2020, a selection that became a franchise-building block. Landing another impact player late in the first round is the only way to justify moving a 22-year-old who had already proved he belongs in an NBA rotation and who keeps getting better on one of the league’s best teams.
In the near term, the Sixers had their eyes on locking up a playoff spot with three games left to play. The 2026 NBA postseason features 20 teams set and seeded to compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The play-in tournament begins Tuesday, with four teams from each conference facing off for the last two spots against the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. The final week of regular-season play ended Sunday, as top seeds capped dominant runs and bottom-dwelling teams completed their last push to position themselves for the May 10 draft lottery.
