Tuesday night will mark championship-level celebration for one lucky NBA franchise.
The NBA Draft lottery, airing at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, is expected to change the future of the team that lands the first overall pick — and the right to select French sensation Victor Wembanyama.
The 7-foot-4 teenager is such a highly touted prospect that the NBA made all of his games in France’s LNB Pro A available to stream for free this season.
Here’s the breakdown on the odds to land the No. 1 overall pick:
- The Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs each have a 14% chance at landing the first selection, and all 14 teams in the lottery have at least a chance at winning.
- The Charlotte Hornets (12.5%) and Portland Trail Blazers (10.5%) have the fourth- and fifth-best odds.
- Wembanyama’s future is up in the air: There’s a 35% chance he could end up in Orlando, Indiana, Washington, Utah, Dallas, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Toronto, or New Orleans — all of which have no more than a 9% chance of winning the lottery.
Look for tonight’s lucky team to waste no time capitalizing on their good fortune.
The Pelicans, for example, reportedly sold 3,000 season-ticket packages the day after winning the 2019 lottery and the right to select Zion Williamson. Just last week, the Chicago Blackhawks sold $5.2 million in season-ticket packages after winning the NHL’s draft lottery and thus the Connor Bedard sweepstakes.
