NBA Draft Update: Picks, Protections, And Plenty Of Ping-Pong Balls

The NBA playoff field is set. And with it, the lottery odds are starting to take shape — though, as always, we’ve still got some coin flips, pick protections, and a few headaches to sort out before we can lock anything in.

Let’s start with the obvious: The Heat and Magic punched playoff tickets, meaning their picks are officially playoff-bound — and officially going elsewhere. Miami’s selection, slotted at No. 15, is headed to Oklahoma City, and Orlando’s pick stays with… well, Orlando. As for Memphis, they’re handing a first-rounder to Washington, thanks to surviving the play-in and avoiding the lottery.

The Warriors, by the way, did the same earlier in the week, which means their pick lands in Miami. (Yes, that’s the same Heat team giving up their own pick while receiving someone else’s. Welcome to the NBA version of recycling.)

Tiebreaker Time

We’ve got three key ties to untangle when it comes to lottery positioning:

• Suns and Blazers (36-46)
• Mavs and Bulls (39-43)
• Kings and Hawks (40-42)

The tiebreakers matter — not just for pride, but for actual odds. If the Blazers beat out the Suns in the coin flip, Portland would essentially get the 50/50 shot at landing the No. 9 overall pick. If Phoenix wins? It’s Houston — who owns that pick — that benefits.

The Kings and Hawks? Same deal. Their tie could impact multiple teams. More on that in a sec.

Traded Picks Getting Real

Thanks to the play-in results, a few protected picks are now fully in play:

• Sixers’ pick will go to OKC if it lands outside the top 6. At this point, it’s trending that way.
• Suns’ pick goes to Houston — and again, where it lands depends on that tie with Portland.
• Kings’ pick will go to Atlanta if it’s outside the top 12. Bad news for Sacramento — they’ll likely fall at 13 or 14.
• Hawks’ pick already belongs to San Antonio, so the Spurs will now have two lottery selections — their own and Atlanta’s, thanks to the Hawks flaming out in the play-in.

One more twist: Had Dallas won and bumped Memphis into the lottery, the Kings may have slid into the top 12 — protecting that pick. Instead, Grizzlies won, Mavs lost, and Sacramento’s likely sending their pick to the ATL.

Draft Order (So Far…)

Once again, tiebreakers on Monday will sort out some of the chaos. But here’s how the non-lottery portion of the first round looks heading into the weekend:

• 15. Thunder (via Heat)
• 16. Magic
• 17. Timberwolves (via Pistons)
• 18–20. Wizards (via Grizzlies) / Heat (via Warriors) / Nets (via Bucks) — order TBD
• 21. Jazz (via Timberwolves)
• 22–25. Thunder (via Clippers) / Pacers / Magic (via Nuggets) / Hawks (via Lakers) — order TBD
• 26. Nets (via Knicks)
• 27. Nets (via Rockets)
• 28. Celtics
• 29. Suns (via Cavaliers)
• 30. Clippers (via Thunder)

The draft tiebreakers — the literal coin flips — will be held Monday at 3 p.m. ET, per AP’s Tim Reynolds.

Until then, it’s all about ping-pong balls, protections, and playoff pivots — and maybe a little NBA luck along the way.