NBA Draft Lottery 2015: TV Schedule, Live Stream and Odds for Top Pick
For the 31st time in the Association's history, the NBA utilizes Ping-Pong balls and a lottery system Tuesday to solidify the order of the 2015 NBA draft.
Behind the scenes, 14 Ping-Pong balls joust for 1,001 combinations in a lottery to form the top 14 picks of the draft. Current and former players and other recognizable faces will make the announcements Tuesday night at the Hilton Midtown.
From there—chaos.
Chaos because the lottery never comes without it. This holds ever true in a draft class lacking a surefire No. 1 pick and immense depth. Here's how to catch the action and each lottery team's odds at the top selection.
2015 NBA Draft Lottery Viewing Info
Date: Tuesday, May 19
Location: Hilton Midtown in New York City
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Odds for Top Pick
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 25 percent |
| New York Knicks | 19.9 percent |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 15.6 percent |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 11.9 percent |
| Orlando Magic | 8.8 percent |
| Sacramento Kings | 6.3 percent |
| Denver Nuggets | 4.3 percent |
| Detroit Pistons | 2.8 percent |
| Charlotte Hornets | 1.7 percent |
| Miami Heat | 1.1 percent |
| Indiana Pacers | 0.8 percent |
| Utah Jazz | 0.7 percent |
| Phoenix Suns | 0.6 percent |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 0.5 percent |
Underrated Teams to Watch
Minnesota Timberwolves
The most underrated team of all when it comes to the lottery this year is the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Remember, this is a budding contender already featuring Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins. If the team can go out and add a major presence underneath the basket such as Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor, there's a foundation for an annual contender.
While the biggest need in Minnesota seems to be down low, coach Flip Saunders says his team won't make the mistake of drafting for position, per Phil Ervin of Fox Sports North:
"You probably have to take the best player available and not be as much concerned with what position he is. Usually, the teams that have made major mistakes in this league have drafted for position rather than drafting who the best player was or who they thought was maybe someone else higher on the board, but he wasn't the position they really wanted. That's how we'll evaluate it.
"
It's an interesting point to remember no matter where the Timberwolves land.
Regardless, if the team lands in the top two, it's hard to go wrong and not add to an already impressive crop of young talent.
Orlando Magic
In a quiet manner, the Orlando Magic seem to have decent odds to land a top-five pick and also tout one of the league's better young cores thanks to the guard combo of Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo.
Like the Timberwolves, the Magic seem to need a presence down low in order to help the franchise take the proverbial next step.
For Orlando, this can be either Towns or Okafor if the team manages a top-two selection, but landing a consolation prize such as Willie Cauley-Stein or even a small forward such as Justise Winslow would help move things in the right direction.
With a solid core in place and maturing, another top-five talent will have the Magic in playoff contention, so keep an eye on where one of the quietest teams leading up to the event lands.
Philadelphia 76ers
Then there are the Philadelphia 76ers, the team seeming to never get enough lottery picks or wanting to leave rebuilding mode.
Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated breaks down one of the lottery's most interesting situations:
"The 76ers find themselves in an even more precarious situation this year. Philadelphia has the third-highest chance, 15.6%, at the No. 1 overall pick this year. The Sixers are also owed the Lakers' top-five protected first rounder, as well as the Miami Heat's top-10 protected lottery selection.
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It goes without saying the 76ers figure to want a guard like D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay near the top of the order thanks to the presence of Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid down low, the former who will act as the team's representative Tuesday.
Of course, these are the 76ers, so who knows?
There seems to be a boatload of different ways Tuesday can go for the franchise, a fitting fact surrounding the team with the most interesting rebuilding strategy of all.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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