Sixers 2015 pre-lottery draft pick update

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The final night of the NBA regular season came complete with all sorts of scenarios that affected various draft picks for the Sixers. It didn’t work out the way the pro-rebuild/ping-pong ball crowd hoped. That doesn’t mean the Sixers can’t land multiple picks in the upcoming draft. They can. It just means the odds are longer now.

Here’s what you need to know:

Sixers: The Sixers had a chance to finish with the second-worst record in the NBA. They needed to lose to the Heat at home. They did. They also needed the Knicks to beat the Pistons. They didn’t.

The Knicks were one game worse than the Sixers. New York finished the season 17-65. The Sixers were 18-64 (including an impressive 10-game losing streak to end the year). Heading into the lottery, the Sixers have a 15.56 percent chance to pick third, a 22.53 percent chance to pick fourth, a 26.53 percent chance to pick fifth and a four percent chance to pick sixth. That gives them slightly less than a one-in-three shot to move up and draft first or second.

Lakers (top-five protected): This one was locked in before Wednesday night. The Lakers (21-61) finished with the fourth-worst record in the league. For the Lakers to convey the pick, two lottery teams in the 5-14 slots would have to leap into the top three, thereby knocking the Lakers down to sixth. The odds of that happening are 17.2 percent.

If the Sixers don’t get the pick this year, it becomes top-three protected in 2016 and again in 2017. It would be unprotected in 2018.

Heat (top-10 protected): This one was crazy convoluted. If the Heat beat the Sixers and the Nets lost to the Magic on Wednesday, Brooklyn and Miami would have tied for the 10th-worst record. That would have led to a coin flip for lottery purposes that could have significantly increased the Sixers' odds of getting the Heat pick this year. But the Nets beat the Magic, so you’ll never get to tell our grandkids about The Great Lottery Coin Flip of 2015. Bummer. Would have made for a good story.

As owners of the 10th-worst record, the Heat (37-45) have an 86.98 percent chance to pick 10th. There’s also less than a four percent chance that they vault somewhere into the top three. Add it all up, and the Sixers have a little better than a nine percent chance of getting this pick from Miami.

If the pick isn’t conveyed this year, it will be top-10 protected against next season. It’s unprotected in 2017.

Thunder (top-18): This one was also locked in before Wednesday evening. OKC finished with a record of 45-37 — and still missed the playoffs. The Western Conference is brutal. The Thunder will be the 14th and final lottery team. No pick for the Sixers this year. The pick is top-15 protected in 2016 and 2017. If it’s still not conveyed, it becomes a second-rounder in 2017 and another second in 2018.

That’s it. The Sixers could still end up with multiple picks this season, but the odds aren’t great.

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