NBA Draft Lottery 2023: Projected Order and Odds for Every Team Involved
Ten of the 14 NBA draft lottery participants were confirmed after Sunday's regular-season finales.
The Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets finished with the three worst records in the NBA, which gives them the share of the best odds to win the draft lottery May 16.
Each of those three squads are hoping that their 14 percent chance to win the lottery translates to the rights for Victor Wembanyama.
The good news for the trio is that the previous three lottery winners also had 14 percent odds to land the No. 1 pick. Detroit in 2021 and the Orlando Magic in 2022 won the top pick after producing the second-worst records in the regular season. The Minnesota Timberwolves had the third-worst record in 2020 when they landed the top pick.
NBA Draft Lottery Odds
1 of 3
1. Detroit (17-65 - 14.0% odds to win NBA draft lottery)
2. San Antonio (22-60 - 14.0%)
3. Houston (22-60 - 14.0%)
4. Charlotte (27-55 - 12.5%)
5. Portland (33-49 - 10.5%)
6. Orlando (34-48 - 9%)
T7. Washington (35-47)
T7. Indiana (35-47)
9. Utah (37-45 - 4.5%)
10. Dallas (38-44 - 3.0%)
The tie between the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers will be determined by a coin toss prior to the NBA draft lottery. The team with the seventh-best odds carries a 7.5 percent chance to win the draft lottery, while the eighth-place squad possesses 6 percent odds.
The final four lottery teams will be determined by the play-in round games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
The four losers will be sorted by regular-season records. The Chicago Bulls' first-round pick goes to the Orlando Magic, and the Utah Jazz own the Minnesota Timberwolves selection.
Detroit Looking for 2nd No. 1 Pick in 3 Years
2 of 3
The Pistons are hoping to become the first two-time lottery winner in the new format.
The lottery odds were evened out ahead of the 2020 draft so that the teams with the worst three records carried the same odds.
Detroit has built a solid young roster through the last few drafts. Jaden Ivey showed well in his rookie season by averaging 16.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Cade Cunningham should be healthy next season. Killian Hayes and Jalen Duren give them a nice young core to work around, and that was added to with the midseason trade of James Wiseman with the Golden State Warriors.
The addition of Wembanyama would make the Pistons a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.
If Detroit does not win the lottery, it could go after Alabama's Brandon Miller or another forward.
Point guard Scoot Henderson, who is the second-best prospect behind Wembanyama, would not fit within Detroit's roster because it already has a few ball-handlers in Cunningham, Hayes and Ivey.
Houston, San Antonio Hoping to End 20-Plus-Year No. 1 Pick Droughts
3 of 3
Houston and San Antonio are hoping to land the top pick for the first time in a few decades.
The Rockets last had the No. 1 overall pick in 2002, when they chose Yao Ming.
The Spurs' last No. 1 selection was Tim Duncan in 1997. They also landed David Robinson with the top pick in 1987.
The pair of Texas teams could use Wembanyama to kickstart their rebuilds that has been started with other young players.
Houston has a promising young core of Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Şengün. The addition of Wembanyama would give the Rockets a formidable starting five to make a push further up the standings.
San Antonio's roster carries a nice mix of veterans like Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones and young players like Malaki Branham and Jeremy Sochan.
A lottery victory would accelerate San Antonio's rebuild and give Gregg Popovich the chance to end the team's playoff drought that dates back to 2019.
