LaMelo Ball, top NBA Draft prospect
The 14 NBA teams that missed the playoffs will have representatives on hand for the 2020 draft lottery on Thursday night.
Only the top-4 picks are decided by the lottery. After the top-4 picks are selected, the remainder of the teams remain in the reverse order of the standings. This means, Golden State, which had the worst record in the league, can come out of the lottery no worst than No. 5.
The Knicks have a nine percent chance at landing the No. 1 pick. They have a 9.2 percent chance at No. 2, 9.4 percent chance at No. 3, and 9.6 percent chance at No. 4.
2020 NBA Lottery Odds (% Chance at Each Pick)
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Golden State | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 47.9 | |||||||||
| Cleveland | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 27.8 | 20 | ||||||||
| Minnesota | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 14.8 | 26 | 7 | |||||||
| Atlanta | 12.5 | 12.2 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 7.2 | 25.7 | 16.7 | 2.2 | ||||||
| Detroit | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 2.2 | 19.6 | 26.7 | 8.7 | 0.6 | |||||
| New York | 9 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 8.6 | 29.8 | 20.6 | 3.7 | 0.1 | |||||
| Chicago | 7.5 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 19.7 | 34.1 | 12.9 | 1.3 | >0.0 | |||||
| Charlotte | 6 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 34.5 | 32.1 | 6.8 | 0.4 | >0.0 | |||||
| Washington | 4.5 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 50.7 | 25.9 | 3 | 0.1 | >0.0 | |||||
| Phoenix | 3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4 | 65.9 | 19 | 1.2 | >0.0 | >0.0 | |||||
| San Antonio | 2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 77.6 | 12.6 | 0.4 | >0.0 | ||||||
| Sacramento | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 86.1 | 7.6 | 0.1 | |||||||
| New Orleans | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 92 | 2.3 | ||||||||
| Memphis | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 97.6 |
*Washington actually finished with a worse record than Charlotte after going 1-7 in the seeding games. However, the bottom eight teams were locked into the top-8 lottery odds slots as part of the agreement to conduct the NBA bubble without them.
*Memphis’ pick will go to Boston unless they move up in the top-4
Here’s the full first-round:
- 1. Golden State Warriors (14.0%)
- 2. Cleveland Cavaliers (14.0%)
- 3. Minnesota Timberwolves (14.0%)
- 4. Atlanta Hawks (12.5%)
- 5. Detroit Pistons (10.5%)
- 6. New York Knicks (9.0%)
- 7. Chicago Bulls (7.5%)
- 8. Charlotte Hornets (6.0%)
- 9. Washington Wizards (4.5%)
- 10. Phoenix Suns (3.0%)
- 11. San Antonio Spurs (2.0%)
- 12. Sacramento Kings (1.3%)
- 13. New Orleans Pelicans (1.2%)
- 14. Boston Celtics* (from Grizzlies) (0.5%)
- 15. Orlando Magic
- 16. Portland Trail Blazers
- 17. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Nets)
- 18. Dallas Mavericks
- 19. Brooklyn Nets (from Sixers)
- 20. Miami Heat
- 21. Philadelphia 76ers (from Thunder)
- 22. Denver Nuggets (from Rockets)
- 23. Utah Jazz
- 24. Milwaukee Bucks (from Pacers)
- 25. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Nuggets)
- 26. Boston Celtics
- 27. New York Knicks (from Clippers)
- 28. Los Angeles Lakers
- 29. Toronto Raptors
- 30. Boston Celtics (from Bucks)
Top Prospects in 2020 Draft
Here are the top prospects in the 2020 NBA Draft (via CBS Sports):
| 1 | LaMelo Ball | Australia | – | PG | 6-6 | 180 |
| 2 | Killian Hayes | France | – | PG | 6-5 | 192 |
| 3 | Tyrese Haliburton | Iowa St. | Soph | PG | 6-5 | 175 |
| 4 | James Wiseman | Memphis | Fr | C | 7-1 | 240 |
| 5 | Anthony Edwards | Georgia | Fr | SG | 6-5 | 225 |
| 6 | Onyeka Okongwu | USC | Fr | C | 6-9 | 245 |
| 7 | Deni Avdija | Israel | – | SF | 6-9 | 215 |
| 8 | Patrick Williams | Florida St. | Fr | SF | 6-8 | 225 |
| 9 | Obi Toppin | Dayton | Soph | PF | 6-9 | 220 |
| 10 | Kira Lewis Jr. | Alabama | Soph | PG | 6-3 | 165 |
There is no consensus No. 1 pick in this upcoming draft as there was last season with Zion Williamson. Some teams, like the Warriors, have been rumored to have Anthony Edwards on the top of their draft board.