2023 NBA Lottery Primer: Odds, Team Reps, Traded Picks

In each of the past three seasons, one of the bottom three seeds has gone on to win the lottery.

That’s good news for the Pistons, Rockets and Spurs — as each is tied for the best odds (14.0 percent) entering what is being called the Victor Wembanyama Sweepstakes.

Wembanyama, of course, is the 7-foot-4 French center that is expected to quickly change the course of a franchise. He is viewed as the best NBA Draft prospect since LeBron James back in 2023.

And let’s face it, the Pistons, Rockets and Spurs could all use a player like that.

After those three, the the Hornets (12.5%), Trail Blazers (10.5%), Magic (9.0%), Pacers (6.8%), and Wizards (6.7%) have the next-best odds to win the top pick and the right to draft Wembanyama. 

But last time a team jumped above any of the top three to claim the prize? Try 2019, when the Pelicans jumped up from seventh-best odds and eventually selected power forward Zion Williamson at No. 1 overall.

As it stands, there’s just a 19.2 percent chance that a team outside manages to claim the lottery. So yes, it’s doable, but a longshot nonetheless.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks traded their pick to the Knicks, but will get to keep it provided it lands within the top 10 of the lottery. There’s almost a 80 percent chance that is what will happen — and Dallas will keep its pick.

Also, the Bulls owe their pick to the Magic if it falls outside of the top four. Chicago has just an 8.5 percent chance of that happening. So the Bulls’ 2023 pick is highly likely headed to Orlando.

You can find the complete lottery odds at the bottom of this post. Here are who will be representing each team, both on stage, and behind the scenes:

Pistons

• On stage: Ben Wallace (basketball operations/advisor)
• Lottery room: Jon Phelps (director of basketball strategy)

Rockets

• On stage: Ime Udoka (head coach)
• Lottery room: Clay Allen (general counsel)

Spurs

• On stage: Peter J. Holt (team owner)
• Lottery room: Brian Wright (GM)

Hornets

• On stage: Mark Williams
• Lottery room: Buzz Peterson (GM/senior VP of basketball operations)

Trail Blazers

• On stage: Brandon Roy (former Trail Blazers player)
• Lottery room: Sergi Oliva (assistant GM)

Magic

• On stage: Jamahl Mosley (head coach)
• Lottery room: Joel Glass (chief communications officer)

Pacers

• On stage: Tyrese Haliburton
• Lottery room: Kevin Pritchard (president of basketball operations)

Wizards

• On stage: Wes Unseld Jr. (head coach)
• Lottery room: Brett Greenberg (assistant GM)

Jazz

• On stage: Collin Sexton
• Lottery room: Ryan Smith (team owner)

Mavericks

• On stage: Nico Harrison (president of basketball operations)
• Lottery room: Michael Finley (assistant GM)

Bulls

• On stage: Dalen Terry
• Lottery room: Pat Connelly (assistant GM)

Thunder

• On stage: Nick Collison (former Thunder player/scout)
• Lottery room: Sam Presti (executive VP/GM)

Raptors

• On stage: Bobby Webster (GM)
• Lottery room: Teresa Resch (VP of basketball operations)

Pelicans

• On stage: David Griffin (executive VP of basketball operations)
• Lottery room: Bryson Graham (assistant GM)

The 2023 NBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm will be held tomorrow night in Chicago and air live at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Below are the 2023 lottery probabilities for each of the 14 teams ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/3XGjp5hLkW

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 15, 2023