The Detroit Pistons and about half the league await their draft fate in the upcoming 2023 NBA draft lottery.
It’s one of the most anticipated events each year in U.S. sports, dramatic in its presentation and with franchise-swinging results, all at the whim of ping pong balls in a Smart Play lottery machine.
But the anticipation of this year’s lottery has been building for many months. Why?
Well, the jewel at the top of June’s draft is Victor Wembanyama, one of the most tantalizing prospects in any sport ever. It’s probably the most important NBA draft lottery since 2003, when LeBron James was the prize awaiting the winner. (The Pistons, you’ll remember, took Darko Milicic with the next pick). More about Wembanyama and the rest of the top prospects later on.
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Here’s what you need to know about the lottery process, the odds and pre-lottery order, how it all affects the Pistons, and a little bit about this year’s top draft prospects.
What is the NBA draft lottery?
The league does not guarantee draft spots after the season. Instead, it draws for the top-four picks in a lottery. The remaining draft positions are determined by inverse of regular season record. All 14 teams that miss the playoffs (or the team that owns their pick if it has been traded) have a chance to win the No. 1 pick.
When is the 2023 NBA draft lottery?
The lottery results will be revealed Tuesday, May 16, on ESPN, beginning at 8 p.m. in Chicago.
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How does the NBA draft lottery work?
The NBA now has a very strict and transparent way of doing its lottery to try to quell decades of conspiracy theories, since the lottery’s inception in 1985. Here’s how the 38th annual lottery drawing works:
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There are 14 ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14, which makes up 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of the 14.
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The 14 teams are assigned 1,000 of those 1,001 four-digit combinations. Teams lower in the standings receive more combinations than those with better records.
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The 14 balls are dumped into a lottery machine and mixed for 20 seconds.
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One at a time, each ball is selected every 10 seconds, monitored by a time…