NBA teams will learn where they’ll be picking in the 2013 NBA Draft on Tuesday. The ping pong balls will decide their fate at the NBA Draft Lottery, which begins at 8:30 p.m. ET and airs on ESPN.
NBA Draft Lottery 2013: Time, TV schedule and more
The Orlando Magic have the best chance at winning the draft lottery, but recent history shows that they’re no lock with a 25 percent chance of winning.
Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
The Orlando Magic have the best shot of landing the No. 1 overall pick with a 25-percent chance, but the teams with lesser odds have could get lucky bounces of the balls as well. In order, the Magic are trailed in chances of winning the lottery by the Charlotte Bobcats (19.9 percent), Cleveland Cavaliers (15.6 percent), Phoenix Suns (11.9 percent) and New Orleans Pelicans (8.8 percent), but all 14 lottery teams are in the mix.
The lottery hasn't been won by the team with the worst record -- and thus the best chances -- since 2004, when the Magic used their pick to select Dwight Howard.
While the 2013 draft doesn't have the likes of a Howard, there's still something to be said for having a choice of whom to pick. Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel is widely considered the first overall pick despite his continued recovery from a torn ACL, and he is joined by Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore and Georgetown swingman Otto Porter atop the draft class.
Indiana's Victor Oladipo, UNLV's Anthony Bennett, Michigan's Trey Burke and UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad are among the second-tier players eligible in the draft.
Each of the 14 lottery teams will be assigned four-number combinations based on their record with 1,000 possible. Teams with the most likely odds to win the first overall pick will have more potential combinations assigned to that pick. For example, the Magic and their 25 percent shot at winning will own 250 of the lottery combinations for the first pick.
The first through third picks will be selected by the lottery system, and the remaining 11 lottery teams will follow in order of their records and any previously-decided tiebreakers.
Time: Tuesday, May 21, 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Odds to winning
| Team (record) | Number of combinations | Percent |
| Orlando (20-62) | 250 | 25 |
| Charlotte (21-61) | 199 | 19.9 |
| Cleveland (24-58) | 156 | 15.6 |
| Phoenix (25-57) | 119 | 11.9 |
| New Orleans (27-55) | 88 | 8.8 |
| Sacramento (28-54) | 63 | 6.3 |
| Detroit (29-53) | 36 | 3.6 |
| Washington (29-53) | 35 | 3.5 |
| Minnesota (31-51) | 17 | 1.7 |
| Portland (33-49) | 11 | 1.1 |
| Philadelphia (34-48) | 8 | 0.8 |
| Toronto (34-48) | 7 | 0.7 |
| Mavericks (41-41) | 6 | 0.6 |
| Utah (43-39) | 5 | 0.5 |
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