The 2015 NBA Draft Lottery will take place on Tuesday night in New York, where 14 teams will hope for the ping pong balls to bounce in their favor. The Minnesota Timberwolves finished with the worst record in the league this season and have a 25 percent chance of obtaining the No. 1 pick. However, since the current weighted lottery system was introduced in 1990, the team with the worst record has earned the No. 1 pick only three times. The last time the team with the worst record won the lottery was 2004 when the Orlando Magic won and Dwight Howard was selected first overall.
2015 NBA Draft Lottery: Time, TV schedule and more
The 2015 NBA Draft Lottery will be televised on ESPN prior to Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The New York Knicks finished with the second-worst record and have a 19.9 percent chance at winning the top pick. The team with the second-worst record has had slightly more luck in the lottery than the worst team, as the second-worst team has earned the top pick four times since 1990.
NBA Draft Lottery
Sam Hinkie’s Philadelphia 76ers have a 15.6 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, while the Los Angeles Lakers have an 11.9 percent chance. There’s even more intrigue with these two teams, though. The Lakers’ pick is top five protected and has changed hands several times. Los Angeles first traded it to the Phoenix Suns in the Steve Nash deal, and then the Sixers got it in the three-team deal that sent Michael Carter-Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks and Brandon Knight to Phoenix.
The Lakers have close to an 83 percent chance of picking in the top five, so the odds of keeping the pick are in their favor. However, if that pick falls outside the top five, it goes to Philadelphia. This would give the Sixers two high picks (Philly can also get the Miami Heat’s pick if it falls outside the top 10) and would be devastating for Los Angeles after yet another dreadful season.
The Magic round out the top five in terms of best odds to win the top pick. Orlando has an 8.8 percent chance at winning the lottery.
When looking at lottery upsets, the 1993 Magic still hold the crown for biggest upset after winning with just a 1.5 percent chance. Orlando selected Chris Webber and then traded him to the Golden State Warriors for Penny Hardaway and three future first-round picks. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the lottery last year with a 1.7 percent chance and selected Andrew Wiggins, while the Chicago Bulls also had a 1.7 percent chance when they won in 2008. The Bulls’ prize was Derrick Rose.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have the worst odds to win the lottery at 0.5 percent.
How to watch
Date and time: Tuesday, May 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN
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