The NBA season may not yet be finished but the Association’s worst franchises will have their futures changed Tuesday night.
It will be the 38th iteration of the NBA draft lottery with teams looking to secure some of basketball’s brightest talents.
There are none bigger than French phenom, Victor Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 unicorn is the clear No. 1 pick.
The San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons have the greatest chance of acquiring the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
That will separately take place on June 22, 2023 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
The Magic took full advantage of winning the 2022 lottery, by later selecting Paolo Banchero
WHERE CAN I WATCH THE NBA DRAFT LOTTERY?
The NBA Draft Lottery is Tuesday night and begins at 8pm ET on ESPN.
Some of the top prospects will be in attendance Tuesday. Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite), brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite), Brandon Miller (Alabama), Jarace Walker (Houston) and Cam Whitmore (Villanova) will be on the ground in Chicago.
The order of the first 14 picks will be set in stone following Tuesday night, with picks 15-60 already determined based upon the regular season record.
The NBA Draft lottery provides an opportunity for the NBA’s worst teams to change its future
WHO WILL HAVE THE NO. 1 PICK?
Naturally, this will be decided on the night – with 14 teams eligible to receive the prized draft choice.
The Spurs, Rockets and Pistons have the best probability of winning the lottery — all with a 14% chance. They are closely followed by the Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trailblazers, at 12.5% and 10% respectively.
Teams with over 10% probability of winning have taken home the No. 1 pick in eight of the last 10 drafts.
New Orleans were an exception in 2019 with a 6% chance, which landed them Zion Williamson. So too, Cleveland in 2014 when it got the first pick – resulting in Andrew Wiggins – despite a 1.70% likelihood.
The Pelicans have the lowest statistical chance of acquiring the No. 1 overall pick at 0.5%.
The Cavaliers shocked the NBA world in 2014 after winning the lottery despite a 1.70% chance
WHERE WILL VICTOR WEMBANYAMA GO?
Wembanyama will almost without doubt land at the team who wins the No. 1 pick Tuesday night.
The young Frenchman is the biggest NBA Draft Lottery prize in more than a decade. Dubbed a ‘generational talent’ by none other than LeBron James, Wembanyama is athletic, skilled, enormous, and still only 19.
So, when the league determines its first pick on Tuesday night in New York, the winning team will undoubtedly consider itself very lucky.
Wembanyama will be drafted precisely two decades on from when James was taken by his hometown organization, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in 2003. He has received praise for all corners of the globe in recent months – and perhaps none greater than from James’s former teammate, Richard Jefferson.
‘If LeBron James at that exact moment showed up, Victor would go higher than him,’ Jefferson, a former teammate of James, said during an October airing of NBA Today.
‘LeBron James, and all the things that we saw — and I’m not saying he’s going to be better than LeBron James — what I’m saying is right now, I remember LeBron James 20 years ago.
‘That player was six-foot-seven, this person is seven-[foot]-four. LeBron James would be number two if he has the exact same age in the exact same draft, LeBron James would be number two. That’s how crazy this kid is as a prospect.’
At 7-foot-4, with the ball-handling and shooting skills of a guard, Victor Wembanyama is considered a generational talent and the biggest NBA Draft Lottery prize in a generation
Wembanyama alongside 6-foot-2 Scoot Henderson (right), the likely No. 2 overall draft pick
The seven-foot-four Frenchman starred during two games vs. G League Ignite back in October
WHO HAS PREVIOUSLY WON THE LOTTERY?
Generally speaking, the Association’s worst teams have landed the top pick, but as mentioned there are sometimes surprises.
The most recent three lotteries have been won by a franchise with equal-favorite odds.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic – the winners from 2020-22 – all had a 14% chance.
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Securing the No. 1 overall pick does not guarantee a successful pick as evidenced in recent years.
New Orleans extraordinarily won the lottery back in 2019, ultimately drafting Zion Williamson
While Paolo Banchero won Rookie of the Year for the Magic, Cade Cunningham has yet to star for the Pistons.
The often-maligned Zion Williamson is yet to fulfil anywhere close to his potential for New Orleans.
Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz were back-to-back picks for the Sixers in 2016 and 2017.
Much like Cleveland with Anthony Bennett in 2013, Philadelphia may have hoped it had gone in another direction with the first pick.
