The NBA Draft Lottery gives fans of each team that didn't make the playoffs something to root for, even if it's just for a brief 30-minute period. Fans, whether they're being delusional or not, can root for their team to jump to the top of the lottery.
The 2024 NBA Draft Lottery saw tons of movement. The Atlanta Hawks, a team that made the Play-In Tournament and had the 13th-best odds at landing the No. 1 pick out of the 14 teams in the lottery, somehow defied the odds and won it.
The Atlanta Hawks land the number 1 pick in the 2024 NBA draft!
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 12, 2024
They only had 3% odds to get the number one pick 😳
(via @ESPNNBA)pic.twitter.com/JSprZoucUs
The Hawks got the No. 1 pick, but who's behind them? Here's the draft order so far after the Lottery.
NBA Draft order after Hawks win No. 1 pick in lottery
Pick | Team |
|---|---|
1 | Atlanta Hawks |
2 | Washington Wizards |
3 | Houston Rockets (via Brooklyn) |
4 | San Antonio Spurs |
5 | Detroit Pistons |
6 | Charlotte Hornets |
7 | Portland Trail Blazers |
8 | San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto) |
9 | Memphis Grizzlies |
10 | Utah Jazz |
11 | Chicago Bulls |
12 | Oklahoma City Thunder (via Houston) |
13 | Sacramento Kings |
14 | Portland Trail Blazers (via Golden State) |
Rockets jump to the top four with the Nets' pick, a reminder of why they insisted on as many unprotected picks as they could get in the James Harden trade. Had a 20.3% chance to make this jump.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) May 12, 2024
Not only did the Hawks see a massive jump, but the Houston Rockets rose from the ninth-best odds all the way to No. 3 overall thanks to the trade that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. It's a brutal outcome for the Nets who don't own control of their own first-round pick until 2028 and miss out on a top-three pick.
Trading Jakob Poeltl for pick 8 does not look great
— Matt (@sixringsofsteeI) May 12, 2024
A rare Masai L
Another tough result of the lottery was the Toronto Raptors falling out of the top six of the first round. In order for the Raptors to have kept their pick, they would've had to remain in the top six. Instead, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs got a second pick in the top 10 of this draft, They traded the No. 8 pick for Jakob Poeltl. Brutal.
Piston fans to Adam Silver after getting the 5th overall pick despite having the worst record AGAIN @BSMotorCity
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 12, 2024
pic.twitter.com/CMMrvEJcwN
Poor Detroit Pistons. They suffered through another miserable season only to get the No. 5 pick in the draft for the third straight season. Fortunately, their picks of Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson at No. 5 overall have looked pretty good.
It'll be interesting to see how the draft shakes up when it takes place on Wednesday, June 26. Will the Hawks stay at No. 1 overall or will they look to trade that pick and add a star alongside Trae Young and/or Dejounte Murray? Will they be more willing to trade one of Young or Murray now that they have the No. 1 pick? Things got a lot more interesting after the lottery, that's for certain.