After a year of excruciating pain, our pride and joy has finally returned to us. Draft lottery day allows Sixers fans to be filled with boundless joy and hope for the future. Philadelphia has missed out on that pesky top overall pick, but this is our year. There are going to be a lot of factors in play tomorrow night, so below are some answers to a couple questions you may be having.
How can I watch the NBA Draft Lottery? You can check it out on ESPN at 8 p.m., just before tip-off of the Eastern Conference Finals. Coverage starts at 7 p.m. but deputy commissioner Mark Tatum won't start announcing where teams are picked for another hour. And then there's the commercial, which we'll get to in a minute.
How does the NBA Draft Lottery work? I'll let NBA.com explain this one (also, if you click on this link it takes you to the 2007 Charlotte Bobcats Draft Central, which is just all sorts of great).
In the NBA Draft Lottery, the team with the worst record in the regular season has the most chances for the number one pick, while the team with the best record among the non-playoff teams has the least number of chances. The Lottery determines the order of selection for the first three teams only; the remaining non-playoff teams select in inverse order of their regular season records.
Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 are placed in a drum. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Prior to the Lottery, 1,000 combinations are assigned to the Lottery teams based on their order of finish during the regular season. Four balls are drawn to the top to determine a four-digit combination. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the number one pick. The four balls are placed back in the drum and the process is repeated to determine the number two and three picks. If the one unassigned combination is drawn, the balls are drawn to the top again.
What are the Sixers odds in the lottery? Because they have the worst record in the 2015-16 season, Philadelphia has the best chance of receiving the top overall pick at 25 percent. However, the Sixers do have the option of swapping picks with the Sacramento Kings which was acquired in the Nik Stauskas trade. The Sacramento Kings have a 1.9 percent chance of earning the top pick, bringing the total of the Sixers chances to land the first selection to 26.9 percent. To land the second overall pick, the Sixers total chances are 22.6 percent. The third overall pick is 18.2 percent, and the fourth overall pick is 32.3 percent. Philadelphia can fall no lower than fourth.
What about the Lakers pick which is owed to the Sixers? That pick is top three protected, and the Lakers currently have the second best lottery odds. There is a 44.2 percent chance the pick conveys to the Sixers, and if that's the case it will either be the fourth or fifth overall selection. The pick has a 31.9 percent chance to be fourth, and a 12.3 percent chance to be fifth If the pick does not convey this year, it is also protected 1-3 next year.
If the Sixers swap picks with the Kings or if the Lakers pick does convey, how will that be revealed on TV? Great question. As our own Jake Fischer confirmed, the Sixers have already submitted their pick swap with the Kings to the league office. Therefore, if the Kings do get the higher pick, the card will show the Sixers logo with the words "From Sacramento Kings" below. The Sixers selection would then have the Kings logo with "From Philadelphia 76ers" below.
Same thing with the Lakers pick if it falls out of the top three. The Sixers logo will be on the card with "From Los Angeles Lakers" below. Philadelphia dealt with this when they acquired the New Orleans Pelicans 2014 draft pick, much to the confusion of Julius Erving.
Yes. The card will say "from Los Angeles". Hopefully Brett's more prepared than Doc. https://t.co/6Ye0XGQ4dU pic.twitter.com/cjCx3vtOqu
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) May 13, 2016
Who will be representing the Sixers at the NBA Draft Lottery? Head coach Brett Brown will be the team's representative on-stage. Minority owner Art Wrubel will also be in the lottery room.
What's the deal with the commercial? ESPN always shows the first 12 picks before cutting to a commercial. If you make it to the commercial without hearing your team called, congrats, you're in the top three. Philadelphia has made it to the commercial the past three years, but that isn't good enough now. Top two or bust.
Is there any place I can watch the lottery with over a thousand other very invested Sixers fans? Yes, what are the odds of that? We're hosting a party at XFINITY Live from 6-10 p.m. Come hangout!