Let’s hope Sixer Nerlens Noel, who made the NBA’s All Rookie team yesterday, will have more luck as the team’s rep tonight than Dr. J did last season!
By Mary Cunningham
It may seem bizarre to place so much importance on how a ping-pong ball falls, but tonight’s NBA draft lottery is one of those events that Sixers fans may be talking about for years to come.
While 16 teams made the NBA playoffs this season, 14 teams missed the cut and were thus entered into the 2015 NBA draft lottery, which is slated for Tuesday night in Manhattan. Here is everything you need to know for the big night.
The draft lottery has undergone several changes since it was first held in 1985. The current system calls for 14 ping pong balls numbers one through 14 to be placed in a lottery machine. Four balls are drawn at random, with 1001 possible combinations. Every combination is assigned to a different team — the worse the team’s record, the more combinations it has.
TOP PICK ODDS
1. Minnesota Timberwolves (25 percent)
2. New York Knicks (19.9 percent)
3. SIXERS (15.6 percent)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (11.9 percent)
5. Orlando Magic (8.8 percent)
6. Sacramento Kings (6.3 percent)
7. Denver Nuggets (4.3 percent)
8. Detroit Pistons (2.8 percent)
9. Charlotte Hornets (1.8 percent)
10. Miami Heat (1.1 percent)
12. Indiana Pacers (1.1 percent)
12. Utah Jazz (0.7 percent)
13. Phoenix Suns (0.6 percent)
14. Oklahoma City Thunder (0.5 percent)
DRAFT ODDS AND ENDS
• Knicks: The team with the second-worst odds has won the lottery four times. The most recent team to do it was the Los Angeles Clippers in 2009 when they drafted Blake Griffin.
• SIXERS: The team with the third-worst odds has won the lottery six times. The most recent team to do it was the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013 when they drafted Anthony Bennett.
LOTTERY REPRESENTATIVES
Minnesota Timberwolves: Glen Taylor, owner
New York Knicks: Steve Mills, general manager
SIXERS: Nerlens Noel, player
Los Angeles Lakers: Byron Scott, head coach
Orlando Magic: Alex Martins, CEO
Sacramento Kings: Vlade Divac, team executive
Denver Nuggets: Josh Kroenke, president
Detroit Pistons: Jeff Bower, general manager
Charlotte Hornets: Michael Kidd-Glichrist, player
Indiana Pacers: Larry Bird, president of basketball operations
Utah Jazz: Dennis Lindsey, general manager
Phoenix Suns: Alex Len, player
Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell Westbrook, player
