Los Angeles Clippers: Understanding how the NBA Draft Lottery works

With the Los Angeles Clippers owning two picks in the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery, we take a look at how the lottery process works.

It’s been a while since the Los Angeles Clippers were in the NBA Draft Lottery. But, for the first time since 2010, when they selected Al-Farouq Aminu, the team will have a shot at the top pick, albeit a small one. For those of you who may have forgotten or never really cared, let’s take a look at how the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery will work. (Just remember: It changes next year!)

The Ping Pong Balls

This is everyone’s favorite part and where everyone thinks the league cheats. Spoiler: They don’t. An accountant from Ernst and Young oversees the process, so everything is probably legit.

Each NBA team in the lottery is assigned a four digit code. The four balls are all drawn and the team with the matching combo gets the first pick. This process is repeated for picks two and three.

The Remainders

After picks 1-3 are all drawn, the remaining slots are filled by the teams with the worst remaining record, starting with 4th and working up to 14th.

For this year, the Phoenix Suns have the best odds of grabbing the top pick in the draft at 25%.

Below, you can see a list of team’s odds of getting the number one pick, courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

Phoenix Suns – 25%
Memphis Grizzlies -19.9%
Dallas Mavericks – 13.8%
Atlanta Hawks – 13.7%
Orlando Magic – 8.8%
Chicago Bulls – 5.3%
Sacramento Kings – 5.3%
Cleveland Cavaliers (via Brooklyn Nets) – 2.8%
New York Knicks – 1.7%
Philadelphia 76ers or Boston Celtics (via L.A. Lakers) – 1.1%*
Charlotte Hornets – 0.8%
L.A. Clippers (via Detroit Pistons) – 0.7%*
L.A. Clippers – 0.6%
Denver Nuggets – 0.5%

As you can see, there are a couple of picks with asterisks. For the pick coming from the Lakers, the Celtics get it if it is pick 2-5. Otherwise, Philly gets another piece to add to the process.

Meanwhile, the Clippers only get Detroit’s pick this year if it falls outside of the top 5. Aren’t pick protections fun?

The Clippers

So, what does this all mean for your Los Angeles Clippers? Well, it means we have the slimmest chance of getting into the top three. The Clippers own first round pick only has a 2.2% chance of hitting in one of the coveted top three spots. If it doesn’t, we are likely to be back at 12th.

Luckily, the same is true for Detroit, which means the Clips will be most likely sitting at the 12th and 13th slots as we’ve all expected. So, while we can sit here and say there’s a chance, don’t get too hopeful about scoring one of the top three picks. Yes, it’s possible for the Clippers to move up in the draft by trading picks, but that’s not a guarantee either.

That doesn’t mean we can’t find talent at our positions, as we have covered ad nauseum. The 2018 NBA Draft Lottery will be televised one week from today, on May 15th. Make sure to tune in and may the odds be ever in our favor or something.