The fate of the teams who failed to make the playoffs this season will be decided today as the NBA holds 2014 Draft Lottery on Tuesday in New York.
This year's biggest loser will have the chance to become the biggest winner as well depending on the luck of the draw, which will decide who will pick first in the highly anticipated 2014 NBA Draft.
The winner of this year's lottery will have the chance to select among the top prospects in this year's rookie selection, which includes Kansas Jayhawks star Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.
The Milwaukee Bucks have the best chance of winning in this year's lottery after finishing the season with a league-worst 15-67 record, followed by the Philadelphia 76ers, which ended up with a 19-63 card.
Below is the complete odds and projected order heading into Tuesday's lottery:
- 1. Milwaukee Bucks 25%
- 2. Philadelphia 76ers 19.9%
- 3. Orlando Magic 15.6%
- 4. Boston Celtics 10.4%
- 5. Utah Jazz 10.3%
- 6. Los Angeles Lakers 6.3%
- 7. Sacramento Kings 4.3%
- 8. Detroit Pistons 2.8%
- 9. Cleveland Cavaliers 1.7%
- 10. New Orleans Pelicans 1.1%
- 11. Denver Nuggets 0.8%
- 12. Orlando Magic 0.7%
- 13. Minnesota Timberwolves 0.6%
- 14. Phoenix Suns 0.5%
There were speculations earlier in the season that several teams were tanking to have a good chance of landing a potential franchise player in this year's draft, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver seemed to understand the situation of cellar-dwelling teams.
"The jury is out on the strategy, and I think that makes for good copy as well. I'm intrigued," Silver said. "I read both sides of it in terms of, is that the right way to build a team, what impact does it have on culture, can you rebuild a team in two years, can you rebuild in three years, what's the track record of teams trying to do that?"
The NBA Draft Lottery 2014 is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. EST as a prelude to Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals series between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers.
ESPN will broadcast the event live, and basketball fans can also catch the lottery through live stream via WatchESPN.
The result of the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery will also be available here later today.
