A displays of the first 30 first round picks of the 2015 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. (Photo : Elsa/Getty Images)
The 2015-16 NBA regular season is over and 16 teams are preparing for the postseason. The playoff seeding and matchups are not the only things set, as the lottery odds for the remaining 14 non-playoff teams are here.
The Philadelphia 76ers finished the season with one of the worst records in NBA history at 10-72. They have the best odds of landing the first overall pick at 25 percent.
Fresh off Kobe Bryant's final season and the worst record in franchise history at 17-62, the Los Angeles Lakers has a 19.9 percent chance. The Boston Celtics is third with a 15.6 chance even though they made it into the postseason.
This Celtics pick came from the 21-61 Brooklyn Nets via the blockbuster Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trade of 2013. Here is the full list of the 2016 NBA draft lottery odds courtesy of CBS Sports.
|
Draft Order |
Team |
Odds at 1st Pick (%) |
|
1 |
Philadelphia 76ers |
25 |
|
2 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
19.9 |
|
3 |
Boston Celtics (via Brooklyn Nets) |
15.6 |
|
4 |
Phoenix Suns |
11.9 |
|
5 |
Minnesota Timberwolves |
8.8 |
|
6 |
New Orleans Pelicans |
6.3 |
|
7 |
Denver Nuggets (via New York Knicks) |
4.3 |
|
8 |
Toronto Raptors (via Denver Nuggets) |
1.9 |
|
9 |
Sacramento Kings |
1.9 |
|
10 |
Milwaukee Bucks |
1.8 |
|
11 |
Orlando Magic |
0.8 |
|
12 |
Utah Jazz |
0.7 |
|
13 |
Phoenix Suns (via Washington Wizards) |
0.6 |
|
14 |
Chicago Bulls |
0.5 |
The Timberwolves has already a promising team that includes Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns. If they can manage to get at least a top three pick, Minnesota will be a very exciting team to watch and has the potential to become a powerhouse team in the NBA.
The Suns also has two picks in the lottery that can be used to build around Trevor Booker while the Bucks and Magic are teams that were borderline playoff contenders.
Meanwhile, according to the latest mock draft by Draft Express, Brandon Ingram of Duke has overtaken LSU's Ben Simmons as the projected first pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. The 19-year-old Ingram is a legitimate scorer while the 20-year-old Simmons is a point forward with an NBA-ready body but without the shooting touch.
It's like comparing a rookie Kevin Durant with a rookie LeBron James. The Sixers, Lakers or any of the teams that have a chance to draft first overall has a very difficult decision to make.
On the other hand, the duo of Ingram and Simmons is followed by Croatian international Dragan Bender on the mock draft. He is a 7-foot-1 power forward with the same skills set as Knicks rookie sensation, Kristaps Porzingis.
Other players that are projected as lottery picks are Jaylen Brown, Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, Buddy Hield, Jakob Poeltl, Henry Ellenson, Skal Labissiere, Demetrius Jackson, Timothe Luwawu, Deyonta Davis and Ivan Rabb.
Here is a video of the possible draft selections in the upcoming draft.
