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Tuesday night marks one of the biggest nights on the road to the NBA Draft: The lottery order is revealed!
If you're a fan of one of the 14 non-playoff teams (well, not the Knicks or Nets, cue your Crying Jordan pictures.), your team has a chance to land the top pick the the Draft!
Although, some teams have a much better chance than others. We'll get to that.
How to watch or stream
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN (Where available)
How the lottery works
14 ping pong balls are placed in a standard lottery machine. Four balls are chosen at random. There are 1001 possible combinations of numbers, and the system is weighted in such a way that the 76ers, Lakers, and Celtics (via Nets), hold 605 of the 1001 combinations for the top pick, as they were the three worst teams. The other 396 combinations are weighted as well and distributed to the other 11 teams, with the Chicago Bulls having the fewest possible four-digit combinations with just five. Below is the order, with odds of landing the top pick.
Projected Draft Order
No. | Team | #1 pick odds |
1 | Philadelphia 76ers | 250 combinations (25%) |
2 | Los Angeles Lakers (top 3 only, otherwise goes to Philadelphia) | 199 combinations (19.9%) |
3 | Boston Celtics (via Brooklyn Nets) | 156 combinations (15.6%) |
4 | Phoenix Suns | 119 combinations (11.9%) |
5 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 88 combinations (8.8%) |
6 | New Orleans Pelicans | 66 combinations (6.6%) |
7 | Denver Nuggets (via New York Knicks) | 43 combinations (4.3%) |
8 | Sacramento Kings | 19 combinations (1.9%) |
9 | Toronto Raptors (via Denver Nuggets) | 19 combinations (1.9%) |
10 | Milwaukee Bucks | 18 combinations (1.8%) |
11 | Orlando Magic | 8 combinations (0.8%) |
12 | Utah Jazz | 7 combinations (0.7%) |
13 | Phoenix Suns | 6 combinations (0.6%) |
14 | Chicago Bulls |
5 combinations (0.5%) |
Big East implications
Providence guard Kris Dunn and Marquette forward Henry Ellenson have both been projected as lottery picks all season long. Knowing which teams pick where will help us all know where Dunn and Ellenson may be playing their professional ball.
We'll have a piece up Wednesday morning looking at the most likely destinations for Dunn and Ellenson.