The regular season of the NBA has officially ended. Now, for the teams that didn’t make the playoffs, all eyes are on the NBA Draft Lottery odds for 2024. Of course, the teams finishing with the worst records in the NBA will have the greatest odds to win the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery, which takes place on Sunday, May 12. But, unlike the NFL Draft, other factors go into play. So, you can’t count on the very worst teams to go first.
How Does the NBA Lottery Work?
The 2024 NBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm is set for May 12, 2024, in Chicago. So, who qualifies for the NBA Draft Lottery? The teams that are able to participate are the 14 teams that don’t make the NBA Playoffs. Under the new rules for the lottery, which were put into place on Sept. 28, 2017, “the NBA Draft Lottery will ensure that the team with the worst record will receive no worse than the fifth pick. Under the pre-2019 system, the team with the worst record would pick no lower than fourth,” according to NBA.com. The organization also states that, “The 39th annual NBA Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2024 NBA Draft. Drawings will be conducted to determine the first four picks in the NBA Draft. The remainder of the ‘lottery teams’ will select in positions five through 14 in inverse order of their 2023-24 regular-season records.”
For the actual lottery, they take 14 ping-pong balls, number them 1 through 14 and put them in a lottery machine. The results come from there. It’s really like a lottery. I think the NBA should adopt the NFL’s way of doing the draft, which would make for more competitive games. But, this is what we’ve been dealt, so we might as well watch those balls and hope for the best.
NBA Draft Lottery Odds for the Worst Team in the NBA
The team that closed out the 2023-2024 season with the worst record in the NBA is the Detroit Pistons. They’re guaranteed the No. 5 pick, at least. If this were football, they’d be guaranteed the No. 1 pick.
Back in 2021, the Pistons scored the No. 1 pick and selected Cade Cunningham first overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. It could happen again. Aside from the Pistons, the Spurs, Hornets and Blazers are the other teams with the worst records this season. They’ll all have the best chance to get that No. 1 pick with the NBA Draft Lottery odds.
NBA Draft Lottery Odds for Bottom Teams
According to the experts at SportingNews.com, the Pistons and Wizards both have the best NBA Draft Lottery Odds, with a 14% chance at a No.1 pick. The Trail Blazers have a 13.3% chance, and the Hornets have a 13.2% chance. They’re followed by the Spurs (10.5%), Raptors (9.0%), Grizzlies (7.5%), Jazz (6.0%), Nets (4.5%), Hawks (3.0%), Bulls (2.0%), Rockets (1.5%), Kings (1.0%) and Warriors (0.5%).
So, who are the six of the top prospects in the NBA Draft? According to USA Today, they’re C Alex Sarr (NBL, Australia); F Zaccharie Risacher (LNB Pro A, France); SG Reed Shepard (Kentucky freshman); PG Nikola Topić (Adriatic League, Southeast Europe); PG Rob Dillingham (Kentucky freshman); and F Matas Buzelis (G League Ignite).