How will the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery work?
The 2023 NBA Draft is slated for June 22, 2023 – a little more than a month away. And we’ll finally get some added clarity with the NBA Draft Lottery, which will take place Tuesday, May. The Lottery will officially lock in the NBA Draft order for the 14 teams that didn’t qualify for this year’s NBA Playoffs.
With the draft lottery nearly here, let’s take a look at all the elements that will determine this year’s lottery order.
The NBA Draft Lottery is a real lottery
Let’s not make things more complicated than it needs to be. The NBA Draft Lottery is essentially a drawing of the 14 teams with the worst record in the NBA. Depending on how bad their record was, they are all given several different odds of earning the No. 1 overall pick (a detailed explanation of the complexity of the draft lottery process can be found here).
Here are the odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick for each of the teams that will be participating in the lottery:
1. Detroit Pistons 14%
2. Houston Rockets 14%
3. San Antonio Spurs 14%
4. Charlotte Hornets 12.5%
5. Portland Trail Blazers 10.5%
6. Orlando Magic 9%
7. Indiana Pacers 6.8%
8. Washington Wizards 6.7%
9. Utah Jazz 4.5%
10. Dallas Mavericks 3%
11. Chicago Bulls 1.8%
12. Oklahoma City Thunder 1.7%
13. Toronto Raptors 1%
14. New Orleans Pelicans 0.5%
The prize that awaits landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft
It’s pretty well-known what is at stake at this year’s NBA Draft Lottery. The team that earns the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft will get the honor of selecting Victor Wembanyama. Victor is arguably the best NBA Draft prospect that the league has ever seen and the most hyped prospect since LeBron James made the jump to the NBA in 2003.
Victor is the unanimous No. 1 overall prospect in this year’s NBA Draft and will profoundly change the landscape of the league next season. He is a 7-footer with guard skills. He can score from anywhere on the floor and is automatically going to be one of the most fierce shot-blockers in the league, because of his size and athleticism.
You can make an argument that Victor is going to legitimize any team that selects him. Suffice to say, there is plenty at stake at this year’s NBA Draft Lottery.
The stage is officially set. The question now is, who will emerge from the NBA Draft Lottery with the No. 1 overall pick?