2020 NBA Draft Order: Breaking Down Lottery Odds, LaMelo Ball, Top Prospects

LaMelo Ball is one of three 2020 NBA draft prospects in the mix to be chosen first overall. 

At the moment, the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves share the best odds to top the draft order. 

But as we saw in 2019 with the new lottery rules in place, there is no guarantee one of the three teams will cash in on their 14 percent to select first. 

The Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons are among the teams with lesser odds that will hope to vault the three worst teams, like the New Orleans Pelicans did last year to land Zion Williamson. 

With the NBA's return-to-play format welcoming a handful of teams within reach of the playoffs, lottery odds have been assigned to the worst eight franchises as of now. 

2020 NBA Draft Order and Odds

1. Golden State (14% odds to win lottery)

2. Cleveland (14%)

3. Minnesota (14%)

4. Atlanta (12.5%)

5. Detroit (10.5%)

6. New York (9%)

7. Chicago (7.5%)

8. Charlotte (6%)

9. Washington (4.5%)

10. Phoenix (3%)

11. San Antonio (2%)

12. Sacramento (1.3%)

13. New Orleans (1.2%)

14. Portland (0.5%)

15. Orlando 

16. Minnesota (from Brooklyn)

17. Boston (from Memphis)

18. Dallas

19. Milwaukee (from Indiana)

20. Brooklyn (from Philadelphia)

21. Denver (from Houston)

22. Philadelphia (from Oklahoma City)

23. Miami

24. Utah

25. Oklahoma City (from Denver)

26. Boston

27. New York (from Los Angeles Clippers)

28. Toronto

29. Los Angeles Lakers

30. Boston (from Milwaukee)

Order based off current NBA standings.

The new lottery system installed in 2019 leveled out the odds to earn the No. 1 overall selection. 

That resulted in the Pelicans owning a 3.2 percent better chance to land the top pick out of the No. 8 position. 

With that in mind, there is a larger chance Golden State, Cleveland and Minnesota miss out on the top selection. 

If that occurs, one of the three sides could miss out on Ball, Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman, who are viewed as the only players in the top tier of draft prospects.

Top Prospects

LaMelo Ball, PG, Illawarra Hawks

Rick Rycroft/Associated Press

The Athletic's Sam Vecenie listed Ball atop his latest big board, and Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Ball as the top pick to Detroit in his most-recent draft projection. 

Detroit would be one of the best fits for Ball, as it could add a young replacement for Derrick Rose at point guard at No. 1. 

If the lottery goes chalk, Golden State would have a tougher decision on whether to pick Ball or one of the other top prospects. 

Edwards may be the best fit in the Warriors system because of his shooting ability, while an argument can be made Wiseman is the top positional fit to fill their void down low. 

If Cleveland and Minnesota fall in line behind Golden State, there is a chance those teams turn away from taking the best player available to fit needs, which could leave Ball for the Pistons at No. 5, if no surprises occur in the lottery. 

However, Ball's most intriguing fit could be in Minnesota, where he would split time on the ball with D'Angelo Russell and become another backcourt complement to Karl-Anthony Towns in the paint.

Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Edwards has a longer list of positional fits among the five worst teams than Ball. 

Golden State, Cleveland, Minnesota, Atlanta and Detroit could all use another backcourt scorer who will not demand much time on the ball. 

Wasserman and NBC Sports' Rob Dauster are among the experts that have Edwards landing at No. 2, while CBS Sports' Gary Parrish predicted the Georgia product would be the No. 3 selection. 

Golden State presents the best situation for any prospect since it is expected to be back in the playoff mix during the 2020-21 campaign.

But if the Warriors can't land Edwards, he would be an intriguing selection for the Hawks, who would pair him with Trae Young, Cam Reddish and De'Andre Hunter as part of their growing young core. 

If the Hawks land Edwards, they could have yet another scorer in place to charge up the Eastern Conference standings over other rebuilding squads, like Chicago and New York. 

James Wiseman, C, Memphis

Karen Pulfer Focht/Associated Press

Wiseman comes into the draft with a smaller sample size of how his game translates to the NBA. 

The center participated in three games for Memphis before he was issued a suspension because head coach Penny Hardaway helped Wiseman and his family with moving expenditure when deemed a booster. Instead of returning, he opted to focus on the NBA, which means he will go 11 months between playing in a game and being selected in the draft. 

With that risk comes great potential as the top pure big man in the class, but he does have fewer positional fits than Edwards. 

Minnesota has Towns in place, Cleveland traded for Andre Drummond and Christian Wood blossomed into a key contributor in Detroit. 

One of those teams could bolster their frontcourt depth with Wiseman, but there is not a clear path to a starting role if he develops as expected. 

Wiseman is listed as the No. 3 pick in Wasserman's latest prediction and Vecenie listed him as the No. 4 overall prospect. 

He will not fall too far because of his upside, but he has the highest chance to drop a few positions of the top three players.