The NBA held a draw on Tuesday to break ties for teams in the first round of this year's NBA Draft who finished with the same regular-season records. The draw, done randomly, is held annually to help sort the post-lottery order for teams who finished with the same record dependent upon how certain scenarios play out on lottery night. For teams not selecting in the lottery, the tiebreakers determine the draft order.
Oklahoma City was the biggest winner of the drawing as it won a tiebreaker over Cleveland. While both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers still have an equal shot at winning the No. 1 pick, at 11.5%, according to Tankathon.com, the tiebreaker pushes Cleveland down if both fall out of the top four on lottery night. OKC can now fall no lower than eighth and Cleveland can fall as low as No. 9.
The Orlando Magic are also a big winner after the Chicago Bulls won the 8-10 tiebreaker with Sacramento and New Orleans. If, after the lottery, the Bulls' pick is outside the top four, it would convey to the Magic. The odds it conveys is nearly 80% and the odds it conveys as the highest pick of the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans is 34.5%.
The following tiebreaker scenarios that were settled including a potentially consequential one in the lottery won by Charlotte over San Antonio, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. Non-lottery teams who won tiebreakers will get the better first-round position and that order is then flipped in the second round.
The updated odds to win the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft entering the lottery, which will be held June 22, are as follows.
- Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic: 14.0%
- Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers: 11.5%
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 9.0%
- Toronto Raptors: 7.5%
- Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans: 4.5%
- Charlotte Hornets: 1.8%
- San Antonio Spurs: 1.7%
- Indiana Pacers: 1.0%
- Golden State Warriors: 0.5%
The order for the remainder of the first-round picks is as follows:
15. Washington Wizards
16. Boston Celtics
17. Memphis Grizzlies
18. Miami Heat (to Oklahoma City Thunder or Houston Rockets)*
19. New York Knicks
20. Atlanta Hawks
21. Dallas Mavericks (to New York Knicks)
22. Los Angeles Lakers
23. Portland Trail Blazers (to Houston Rockets)
24. Milwaukee Bucks (to Houston Rockets)
25. Los Angeles Clippers
26. Denver Nuggets
27. Brooklyn Nets
28. Philadelphia 76ers
29. Phoenix Suns
30. Utah Jazz
*-Note: The No. 18 pick will be conveyed to Rockets via Thunder, the Clippers, 76ers, and 76ers or to the Thunder via the Clippers, 76ers, and Suns.
