The 2017 NBA Draft lottery figures to be the most consequential in a number of years. Not only are multiple players with franchise cornerstone potential available, but a number of teams could lose their picks due to past trades.
2017 NBA Draft lottery odds: Celtics, Suns and Lakers have best chance to win No. 1 pick
The lottery will be held May 16. There is a lot at stake.
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The Brooklyn Nets, who finished with the NBA’s worst record, will definitely be handing their pick over to the Boston Celtics. The L.A. Lakers will have to give their pick to the Philadelphia 76ers unless it lands in the top three. The 76ers also swap rights on the Sacramento Kings’ pick: if the Kings pick is better, the teams traded their selections. The New Orleans Pelicans owe their pick to Sacramento unless it lands in the top three.
All of this makes for massive drama on May 16.
The table below outlines each team’s odds of winning the No. 1 pick, odds of winning a top-3 pick, their most likely landing spot and the lowest possible selection they could end up with (minimum possibility of 1%). Necessary tiebreakers — to be settled by coin flip later this week — are noted where applicable.
Team | No. 1 Odds | Top 3 Odds | Most Likely | Worst Possible |
|---|
* A coin flip will break the tie between the Knicks and Timberwolves. The winner of said coin flip will have a most likely pick of No. 6 and a worst possible pick of No. 7; the loser of the coin flip will have a most likely pick of No. 7 and a worst possible pick of No. 8.
^ The 76ers’ line in the table does not include the odds for gaining a No. 1 or top-3 pick via their swap rights with the Kings. The Kings cannot win the No. 1 pick, so the Sixers can essentially be considered to have a 15% probability of winning No. 1 overall (12% probability with their own pick and 3% probability with the Kings’ pick).
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