2024 NBA Draft Lottery: Best odds and details to know

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 12, and it may change the course of history for several franchises. We’ll look at the NBA teams that have the best odds of winning the lottery, and mention other intriguing facts and information to know heading into the event.

The NBA Draft Lottery involves the 14 teams that did not qualify for the postseason during the 2023-2024 campaign. However, teams that did make the playoffs might pick in the first 14 selections if they made a trade or make a future trade that gives them ownership of one of the picks.

The 2024 NBA Draft Lottery will be held in Chicago, with representatives from each of the 14 teams present during the event. The proceedings will start a half hour before Game 4 of the New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers playoff series.

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Results of the lottery drawing are announced by NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum. According to the NBA’s website, Tatum nor any of the team representatives are informed of the results of the lottery until the announcement takes place.

The three teams with the worst records in the NBA in 2023-2024 each have a 14 percent chance of coming away with the first pick. The team with the fourth-worst record has a 12.5 percent chance, and the team with the fifth-worst record has a 10.5 percent chance of winning the lottery. The odds incrementally decrease as the win-loss record gets stronger.

The three teams with the worst records in the NBA this season were the Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets finished with the same 21-61 record as the Portland Trail Blazers, but Barron’s website reported that Charlotte won a tie-breaker in April to get the 14 percent odds.

The Draft Lottery was implemented in 1985. The New York Knicks won the first iteration, and would go on to draft Patrick Ewing. The system was introduced in order to curtail purposeful losing during the second half of the season, making it not a guarantee that the worst team gets the best pick.

Of course, teams that just missed the NBA playoffs have virtually no chance of winning the Draft Lottery, but that’s where the excitement comes in. NBC San Diego remembered the 1993 lottery, when the Orlando Magic has a 1.52 percent chance of getting the top pick. The drawing was in their favor, and they got the first overall pick in back-to-back seasons.

In 2008, the Chicago Bulls stood just 1.7 percent chance of leaving with the top pick. Luck was on their side, and they ended up taking Derrick Rose with the first pick in the draft.

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The Draft Lottery is a fun event to tune into because multi-millionaire front office personnel turn into regular people that cross their fingers and toes, hoping for the best. Some team representatives bring along good luck charms that they think will yield a favorable result.

One of the most memorable good luck charms was Nick Gilbert, son of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. ESPN remembers the time in 2011 when 14-year-old Nick stood in for his father during the lottery, and the Cavaliers got the number one pick. Nick represented the Cavaliers in four draft lotteries, but sadly passed away at age 26 in 2023.

The Toronto Raptors and their fans will be watching the drawing very closely. There’s a chance they could have an enviable pick, and a chance they won’t have a pick at all.

If Toronto’s selection lands in the top six, they get to retain their selection. If it falls outside of this window, then it gets transferred to the San Antonio Spurs. This is part of the Jakob Poeltl trade from 2023, as Yardbarker reminds fans.

Golden State just missed out on the postseason this year, and they likely also won’t have a lottery pick to show for it. Unless their selection lands in the top four, their pick will go to the Portland Trail Blazers, according to the NBA’s website. Considering the Warriors have a 0.7 percent chance to land the top pick, the Blazers are all but assured of claiming the selection.

The San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, and selected Victor Wembanyama with the first pick. Wembanyama won the 2023-2024 Rookie of the Year award, and the 2024 lottery winner will hope they can identify who the prize is this year.

Let us know your favorite good luck charm, pick reveal or fashion choice from the NBA Draft Lottery in the comments!

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