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NBA draft lottery: Draft order, best odds and more for 2024 NBA draft

Most of us can use a little luck.

And the Atlanta Hawks were on the fortunate end of the NBA’s Draft Lottery Sunday, winning the No. 1 pick.

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.

The Hawks, who were 36-46 this season, had a 3% chance to win the lottery, and the longshot came in for Atlanta and Hawks general manager Landry Fields. This is the first time the Hawks have the No. 1 pick since 1975.

There is no clear No. 1 pick. Frenchmen Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher have been projected No. 1 picks in mock draft for the past year, but players like UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham have climbed draft boards.

Here is what you need to know about the 2024 NBA draft order and more:

NBA draft order 2024

  1. Atlanta Hawks

  2. Washington Wizards

  3. Houston Rockets (from Brooklyn Nets)

  4. San Antonio Spurs

  5. Detroit Pistons

  6. Charlotte Hornets

  7. Portland Trail Blazers

  8. San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto Raptors)

  9. Memphis Grizzlies

  10. Utah Jazz

  11. Chicago Bulls

  12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Houston Rockets)

  13. Sacramento Kings

  14. Portland Trail Blazers (from Golden State Warriors)

  15. Miami Heat

  16. Philadelphia 76ers

  17. New Orleans Pelicans (from Los Angeles Lakers)

  18. Orlando Magic

  19. Toronto Raptors (from Indiana Pacers)

  20. Cleveland Cavaliers

  21. New Orleans Pelicans (from Milwaukee Bucks)

  22. Phoenix Suns

  23. Milwaukee Bucks (from New Orleans Pelicans)

  24. New York Knicks (from Dallas Mavericks)

  25. New York Knicks

  26. Washington Wizards (from Los Angeles Clippers)

  27. Minnesota Timberwolves

  28. Denver Nuggets

  29. Utah Jazz (from Oklahoma City Thunder)

  30. Boston Celtics

When is NBA draft lottery?

Sunday, May 12 in Chicago, 3 p.m. ET.

How to watch NBA draft lottery?

ABC will televise the draft lottery.

2024 NBA Draft lottery odds

Odds for the No. 1 pick

Detroit – 14% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 52.13%)

Washington – 14% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 52.13%)

Charlotte – 13.3% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 50.28%)

Portland  – 13.2% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 50.01%)

San Antonio – 10.5% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 42.11%)

Toronto – 9% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 37.22%) (pick will be conveyed to San Antonio if not among the top 6 picks)

Memphis – 7.5% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 31.95%)

Utah  – 6% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 26.3%) (pick will be conveyed to Oklahoma City if not among the top 10 picks)

Houston – 4.5% (from Brooklyn) (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 20.27%)

Atlanta – 3% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 13.88%)

Chicago – 2% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 9.41%)

Houston – 1.5% (pick will be conveyed to Oklahoma City if not among the top 4 picks) (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 7.12%)

Sacramento – 0.8% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 3.84%)

Golden State – 0.7% (pick will be conveyed to Portland – via Boston and Memphis – if not among the top 4 picks) (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 3.37%)

How does NBA 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 remaining lottery teams are slotted in order of their draft odds. Detroit can’t slide any lower than No. 5, Washington no lower than No. 6, Charlotte no lower than No. 7, Portland no lower than No. 8 and San Antonio no lower than No. 9. After that, if a team doesn’t move into the top four via ping-pong ball selection, it can’t move up any higher than its draft lottery odds position. For example, if Toronto, with the sixth-best odds to get a top-four pick doesn’t move in the top four, it can’t land a pick any better than No. 6. If Memphis doesn’t move into the top four, it can’t get a pick any better than No. 7 and so on.

The lottery is conducted in a separate room (with no communication devices, such as cell phones or computers) just before the draft lottery TV show. Select media, NBA officials and representatives of the participating teams and the accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance in the room for the drawings.

Who is the projected No. 1 pick in 2024 NBA Draft?

There is not a definitive No. 1, like last season when Victor Wembanyama emerged as the choice. This season, France’s Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher have been projected No. 1 picks throughout the 2023-24 season.

Alex Sarr puts a shot up during an NBL semifinal series between Perth and Tasmania at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on March 13, 2024.
Alex Sarr puts a shot up during an NBL semifinal series between Perth and Tasmania at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on March 13, 2024.

Who are the other projected top picks in 2024 NBA Draft?

UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, Serbia’s Nikola Topic, Kenctucky’s Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard, Lithuanian-America Matas Buzelis and Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht are potential top-10 picks.

NBA draft lottery simulator results

Using tankathon.com’s draft lottery simulator, this is what the draft lottery results could look like:

1. Washington

2. Detroit

3. Houston

4. Portland

5. Charlotte

6. San Antonio

7. San Antonio

8. Memphis

9. Utah

10. Atlanta

11. Chicago

12. Oklahoma City

13. Sacramento

14. Portland

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA draft lottery 2024: Odds, draft order, top prospects, how it works