Draft Lottery
Further information: NBA Draft LotteryThe first 14 picks in the draft belonged to teams that had missed the playoffs; the order was determined through a lottery. The lottery determined the three teams that would obtain the first three picks on the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win-loss record in the previous season. As it is commonplace in the event of identical win-loss records, the NBA performed a random drawing to break the ties on April 18, 2008.
The lottery was held on May 20, 2008, in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Chicago Bulls, who had the ninth-worst record, won the lottery with just a 1.7% chance to win. The Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves, with the worst and third-worst records, respectively, won the second and third picks.
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2008 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places:
| ^ | Denotes the actual lottery results |
| Team | 2007–08 record |
Lottery chances |
Pick | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | |||
| Miami Heat | 15–67 | 250 | .250 | .215^ | .177 | .358 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 20–62 | 199 | .199 | .188 | .171 | .319^ | .124 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 22–60 | 138 | .138 | .142 | .145^ | .238 | .290 | .045 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 22–60 | 137 | .137 | .142 | .145 | .085 | .323^ | .156 | .013 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New York Knicks | 23–59 | 76 | .076 | .084 | .095 | — | .262 | .385^ | .093 | .004 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 23–59 | 75 | .075 | .083 | .094 | — | — | .414 | .294^ | .039 | .001 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 26–56 | 43 | .043 | .049 | .058 | — | — | — | .600 | .232^ | .018 | .000 | — | — | — | — |
| Charlotte Bobcats | 32–50 | 28 | .028 | .033 | .039 | — | — | — | — | .725 | .168^ | .006 | .000 | — | — | — |
| Chicago Bulls | 33–49 | 17 | .017^ | .020 | .024 | — | — | — | — | — | .813 | .122 | .004 | .000 | — | — |
| New Jersey Nets | 34–48 | 11 | .011 | .013 | .016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | .870^ | .089 | .002 | .000 | — |
| Indiana Pacers | 36–46 | 8 | .008 | .009 | .012 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | .908^ | .063 | .001 | .000 |
| Sacramento Kings | 38–44 | 7 | .007 | .008 | .010 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | .935^ | .039 | .000 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 41–41 | 6 | .006 | .007 | .009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | .960^ | .018 |
| Golden State Warriors | 48–34 | 5 | .005 | .006 | .007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | .982^ |
Read more about this topic: 2008 NBA Draft
Famous quotes containing the words draft and/or lottery:
“News is the first rough draft of history.”
—Philip L. Graham (1915–1963)
“The recent attempt to secure a charter from the State of North Dakota for a lottery company, the pending effort to obtain from the State of Louisiana a renewal of the charter of the Louisiana State Lottery, and the establishment of one or more lottery companies at Mexican towns near our border, have served the good purpose of calling public attention to an evil of vast proportions.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)