How does the NBA Draft Lottery work? Knicks’ odds of getting lottery pick
This year, New York Knicks fans don’t have to wait eagerly to learn where the team will be picking in the NBA Draft. Instead, there’s a high possibility that the Knicks won’t have a pick in the 2023 NBA Draft thanks to the Josh Hart trade with the Trail Blazers and the Mavericks’ tanking efforts.
In 2022, New York was awarded the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery, but draft night itself turned out to be a whirlwind for the Knicks. The organization walked away with only one player selected in the second round (Trevor Keels) after making a flurry of trades.
The draft lottery of years past hasn’t been kind to the Knicks, particularly in 2019. Hopes were high that New York would be awarded the No. 1 pick, otherwise known as Zion Williamson, but the team got the No. 3 pick instead, otherwise known as RJ Barrett. That doesn’t mean that drafting Barrett was a bad decision for New York, but the unluckiness stems from the fact that the last time the Knicks had the No. 1 pick was in 1985 when they selected Patrick Ewing.
The anticipation to wait to see which team will get this year’s No. 1 pick on Tuesday, May 16 is through the roof. The Spurs, Pistons, and Rockets each have a 14% chance to get the top pick. Soon enough, NBA fans will know which team will be crowned the winner of the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
How does the NBA Draft Lottery work?
The 14 teams that missed the NBA Playoffs participate in the draft lottery, where picks 1-4 will be determined by lottery balls, and picks 5-14 will be determined by the inverse order of the regular season records of the teams that weren’t awarded a top-four pick.
Knicks’ odds of getting 2023 lottery pick
Because Dallas finished with the 10th-worst record in the regular season, the Mavericks have a 65.9% chance to get the No. 10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Dallas has a 19% chance to get the No. 11 pick and a 1.2% chance to get the No. 12 pick. If the Mavericks get the No. 11 or No. 12 pick, it’ll go to the Knicks since the pick from the Kristaps Porzingis trade is top-10 protected.
There’s a chance that Mark Cuban’s efforts will go to waste and Dallas won’t have a lottery pick in 2023. Perhaps the lottery odds will finally fall in the Knicks’ favor.
