Memphis Grizzlies secure No. 9 pick
The Memphis Grizzlies landed the No. 9 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday.
This was first time the Grizzlies had a pick in the lottery since they chose Ja Morant with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Memphis also landed Ziaire Williams with a No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft made by the New Orleans Pelicans.
Elliott Perry represented the Grizzlies during the 2019 draft lottery. This time, former Grizzlies forward and current vice president of basketball affairs Tayshaun Prince did the honors.
Memphis entered the draft lottery with a 7.5% chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick, 31.9% chance of a top-four pick and a 34.1% chance of picking eighth. The Grizzlies had a 12.9% chance at landing in the ninth spot.
Two teams, the Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets, jumped into the top four from behind Memphis to drop the Grizzlies to ninth. Atlanta and Houston started the day with the 10th and 12th best odds, respectively. The Hawks secured the No.1 overall pick, followed by the Washington Wizards, Rockets and San Antonio Spurs to round out the top four.
The draft lottery process mixes 14 pingpong balls through a machine with a possible 1,0001 number combinations.
The first ball is removed after 20 seconds, then three more are removed every 10 seconds. Memphis was assigned 75 combinations. For comparisons, the Rockets had 15 combinations and the Hawks had 30.
With the ninth pick, the Grizzlies will be in position to land an impact player on an roster that already includes two allstars and several other players expected to have important roles in the rotation.
Guards Rob Dillingham, Reed Shepherd and Nikola Topic are among the projected top-10 picks. At forward, Ron
Holland, Zaccharie Risacher and Stephon Castle are among the most talented.
Memphis has been upfront about its need for a big man. The top of the draft boards is expected to be shallow with options, led by Alexandre Sarr and Donovan Clingan as projected top-five picks.
The 2024 NBA Draft will be held on June 26-27, starting with the first round on Wednesday.
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Damichaelc.