Hawks defy the odds to win NBA draft lottery
Most of us can use a little luck. And the Atlanta Hawks were on the fortunate end of the NBA’s draft lottery on Sunday, winning the No. 1 pick.
The Hawks, who were 36-46 this season, had a 3% chance to win the lottery, and the long shot came in for Atlanta and general manager Landry Fields. This is the first time the Hawks will have the No. 1 pick since 1975.
Washington landed the second pick, Houston the third, San Antonio the fourth and Detroit the fifth.
Rounding out the remaining lottery picks: No. 6 to Charlotte, No. 7 to Portland, No. 8 to San Antonio, No. 9 to Memphis, No. 10 to Utah, No. 11 to Chicago, No. 12 to Oklahoma City, No. 13 to Sacramento and No. 14 to Portland.
There is no clear No. 1 pick. Frenchmen Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher have been projected No. 1 picks in mock drafts for the past year, but players like UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham have climbed draft boards.
2024 NBA draft order
1. Atlanta Hawks
2. Washington Wizards
3. Houston Rockets
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Charlotte Hornets
7. Portland Trail Blazers
8. San Antonio Spurs
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Utah Jazz
11. Chicago Bulls
12. Oklahoma City (from Houston)
13. Sacramento Kings
14. Portland Trail Blazers
15. Miami Heat
16. Philadelphia 76ers
17. Los Angeles Lakers (this pick may be conveyed to New Orleans)
18. Orlando Magic
19. Toronto Raptors (from Indiana)
20. Cleveland Cavaliers
21. New Orleans Pelicans (from Milwaukee)
22. Phoenix Suns
23. Milwaukee Bucks (from New Orleans)
24. New York Knicks (from Dallas)
25. New York Knicks
26. Washington Wizards (from Los Angeles Clippers, via Dallas and Oklahoma City)
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
28. Denver Nuggets
29. Utah Jazz (from Oklahoma City, via Toronto and Indiana)
30. Boston Celtics
Hawks’ reaction
Triumphant Hawks general manager Landry Fields celebrated the reveal Sunday afternoon on live television as the team’s onsite representative when the order of the top two selections was revealed.
Fields flashed a toothy grin when the Washington Wizards – who had the second-worst record in the NBA at 15-67 last year – were announced to have landed in the second spot, giving the top choice to Atlanta.
The Hawks had the No. 1 overall pick in 1975, via the New Orleans Jazz, and selected David Thompson.
How does the draft lottery work?
According to the NBA, “Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams.
“All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.”
The lottery is conducted in a separate room (with no communication devices, such as cellphones or computers) just before the TV show. Select media, NBA officials and representatives of the participating teams and the accounting firm Ernst & Young were in attendance.