Atlanta Hawks Chances Of Winning NBA Draft Lottery Were Incredibly Low Prior To Lucky Draw

Sunday afternoon was the annual NBA Draft lottery. Unlike last year’s class led by Victor Wembanyama, this is not considered a strong class. But, teams that missed the playoffs were still hopeful to try to move up into the top four to help better their franchise.

While the Pistons, Wizards, Hornets, and Trail Blazers had around a 55% chance cominbed to get the top pick, none of them won the lottery.

Nor did the next two teams in terms of odds, the Spurs or Raptors. Instead, it was the Atlanta Hawks!

Yes, the same Hawks that played in the play-in and were just two wins away from the NBA Playoffs have won the draft lottery.

Here were their odds going into the lottery.

Yet, they ended up with the top pick! It’s the first time the franchise has had the top pick since 1975, when they selected David Thompson. Unfortunately, Thompson decided to join the ABA’s (at the time) Denver Nuggets, and never played a single game in Atlanta.

That’s not how things will turn out this time in Atlanta. Whether they make the pick or trade it, they’re going to get a big asset back.

Now, it’s not the best year to win the lottery, according to most experts. It’s considered a weaker draft class by many, with no surefire franchise player and not a ton of depth, either. French players Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher, UConn Center Rob Dillingham, Serbian guard Nikola Topic, and Kentucky guards Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are among those who could be the top overall pick.

Many expected the Hawks to trade one of their two star guards, Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, this offseason. This certainly changes their thinking somewhat, as there’s no way they expected the 3% chance of getting the first-overall pick to happen.

The 2024 NBA Draft is June 26-27 in Brooklyn.

 

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