The 2019 NBA Lottery

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Ben Spitalny
June 5, 2019

Walking down the halls at SHS on Tuesday, May 14, you may have seen some students with a higher stress level than normal (so off the charts). A possible explanation for this heightened tension and excitement in the hallways was the NBA Lottery that night.

The Knicks, thanks to ending the year with a league-worst record, had tied best odds for the number one pick at 14%. And with that number one pick it’s no secret who anyone would take- superstar Duke forward Zion Williamson. Perhaps the most coveted  prospect since LeBron James, there is no telling to how great he could be.

The NBA lottery works by having four ping pong balls chosen randomly to make the first four picks, and then the remaining picks will be determined based on record.  Only non-playoff teams are involved in the lottery.

So when the clock struck 8:30 P.M., NBA fans from around the league turned into to see the fate of their teams. Nobody could have predicted the results:

The New Orleans Pelicans, despite only having a six  percent chance of landing the first pick, landed the Zion pick, surprising everyone around the league. The second pick was awarded to the Memphis Grizzlies, who would look to draft Murray State PG Ja Morant.

Despite having the best odds, the Knicks were only awarded the third pick,  much to the dismay of many New Yorkers. Come the draft in June, they will most likely be drafting Duke star RJ Barrett. The fourth pick was also a surprise, as the Los Angeles Lakers won the pick, despite only having a 9.4 percent chance at getting a pick in the top five. They’ll try to draft a good player to pair with their franchise star, LeBron James.

The rest of the picks were as followed:

  1. Cleveland Cavaliers (14% chance at 1, tied best)
  2. Phoenix Suns (14% chance at 1, tied best)
  3. Chicago Bulls
  4. Atlanta Hawks
  5. Washington Wizards
  6. Atlanta Hawks (via trade with Mavericks)
  7. Minnesota Timberwolves
  8. Charlotte Hornets
  9. Miami Heat
  10. Boston Celtics (via trade with Kings)

This lottery will go down as one of the most surprising and unexpected ones in history- as teams with high odds were given low odds and teams with low odds were given high picks. The NBA draft will follow on June 20th with the teams securing their picks.