On Wednesday night, the draft lottery balls will once again decide the future of the NBA teams. But how does this actually work? Who has the best cards on the No.1 pick? SPOX explains the procedure and answers the most important questions.
The draft lottery was first introduced in 1985 to prevent the worst team of the previous regular season from automatically receiving the first or second pick. Previously there was only one coin toss, which raffled off the No.1 pick between the worst teams of the two conferences.
In the draft lottery, on the other hand, the first three picks in the coming draft are drawn. The following draft positions will be awarded after the reversed balance in the Regular Season. This means that if the Phoenix Suns with the worst record are not drawn in the lottery, they will definitely have the fourth pick. No team can fall back more than three places, but any jump to the top is possible.
In total, the 14 teams that missed the playoffs will participate. It is a weighted lottery – which means that the Suns have the best chance of winning the first pick (25 percent). The Denver Nuggets, on the other hand, as the team with the best record outside the playoffs, only have a 0.3% chance.
The Mavericks and Hawks (24-58) as well as the Kings and Bulls (27-55) had finished the season with the same result, so a coin toss between the two teams decided in April. Dallas and Sacramento had the luck on their side, which is why they each have a slightly better chance of winning the first pick.
The Cavs get the pick in any case.
The Sixers get the pick when their position is 1 or 6-30. At positions 2-5, the pick would go to Boston.
The Pistons pick is top 4 protected.
Page 1: What is the Draft Lottery and who participates?
Page 2: How does the Draft Lottery work and who are the teams sending?
Page 3: What are the special features, protections and pick swaps?
Page 4: What happens to the non-lottery teams?
Page 5: How did the lottery work in the past?