Markelle Fultz is one of the favorites to be selected with the first pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. (Getty)
The NBA Draft Lottery gets started tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. The lottery will decide the order of the first 14 picks of the 2017 NBA Draft.
Here’s the details for tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery.
Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Time: 8:30 p.m. Eastern
Location: New York Hilton, New York City, New York
TV Channel: ESPN
Odds: The Celtics have the best odds to win the top pick at 25 percent.
Lottery Preview: Each year, the NBA conducts a lottery to decide the first fourteen picks of the NBA draft. This year is a bit unique given the team with the best odds, the Boston Celtics, are also making a deep playoff run.
The Celtics have the pick thanks in part to a throw-in clause in a 2013 trade with the Nets that gave Boston the right to swap picks if they chose to do so. With a 25 percent chance to land the top pick, the Celtics winning the lottery is far from a sure thing adding intrigue to an already appealing NBA draft.
Two point guards are believed to be at the top of most team’s draft boards, Washington’s Markelle Fultz and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball. After Fultz and Ball, Duke’s Jayson Tatum, Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox and Kansas’ Josh Jackson are just some of the names expected to hear their names called.
While there is debate over the depth of the 2017 class, most draft analysts agree that the top of the draft is more talented than we have seen in year’s past. All eyes will be on the ping-pong balls that could decide the fate of several franchises.