Here are the details of the New Orleans Pelicans’ lottery odds in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery.
The New Orleans Pelicans‘ season didn’t end like they wanted, but there is a bright side.
The Pels didn’t make the playoffs, which is disappointing, but they will get a ticket in the NBA Draft Lottery on August 20th.
Like last year, the Pelicans will enter the lottery with a small chance at jumping into the top-four and an even smaller chance of landing the top pick, but we all know what happened last year.
They bucked the odds, landed number one and took a potential superstar in Zion Williamson.
The Pelicans were hoping that San Antonio and Phoenix would get into the play-in game, as it would have improved their lottery position, but Memphis managed to slither in somehow, so the Pels didn’t move up.
This is too bad, as moving up from the 12th or 13th worst record to the 10th worst record doubles the chances of lucking out and getting the top pick.
Here’s where the Pelicans stand going into the NBA Draft Lottery on Thursday.
What are the New Orleans Pelicans’ lottery odds?
The New Orleans Pelicans lost the tiebreaker to the Sacramento Kings, so will end the season with the 13th worst record in the league.
The difference between the two is not significant, but there is a slight advantage to being the lower seed.
The Kings will have a 6.1% chance to jump into the top-ten or the top-five, with just a 4% chance of moving into the top three. They would have a 1.3% chance of grabbing the number one pick.
The Pelicans ended up 13th, so their odds of jumping into the top-ten or top-five drop to 5.7%, top-three to 4% and they would have a 1.2% chance at the number one pick.
This is not considered a strong draft, but it is also a huge unknown, as teams have not had nearly the amount of time or footage to scout due to the pandemic.
This is likely to be a complete crap-shoot, a year where the Pels could get the best player with the 13th pick.
They’d still rather pick number one, but it’s going to take some more love from the lottery Gods.