Can Sacramento Kings get lucky in NBA draft lottery? Odds, TV schedule, pick projections
The odds won’t be in their favor, but the Kings hope luck will be on their side in the NBA draft lottery Tuesday in Chicago.
The lottery will be televised by ESPN beginning at 5 p.m. The 30-minute special will precede Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
The Kings went 30-52 to finish with the seventh-worst record in the NBA this season. Based on their record, they will have a 32% chance of landing a top-four pick. They will have a 7.5% chance of being awarded the No. 1 pick, a 7.8% chance at the No. 2 pick, an 8.1% chance at the No. 3 pick and an 8.5% chance at the No. 4 pick.
Sacramento cannot receive the No. 5 or No. 6 picks under the current lottery format. The Kings have a 19.7% chance of holding their pre-lottery position at No. 7. They have a 34.1% chance of slipping to No. 8, a 12.9% chance of dropping to No. 9, a 1.3% chance of falling to No. 10 and a 0.03% chance of sliding to No. 11.
The Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons — the three worst teams in the NBA this season — will each have a 14% chance of securing the No. 1 pick. The Rockets can fall no lower than fifth, the Magic sixth and the Pistons seventh.
Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren, Auburn power forward Jabari Smith and Duke power forward Paolo Banchero are widely projected as the top three picks in mock drafts. Other top prospects include Purdue shooting guard Jaden Ivey, Kentucky shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe, Iowa power forward Keegan Murray, Duke small forward A.J. Griffin and Arizona shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin.
The Kings will be represented at the lottery by Domantas Sabonis, who came to Sacramento in the February trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Indiana Pacers. Past Kings representatives included Monte McNair, De’Aaron Fox, Willie Cauley-Stein, Vlade Divac and Anjali Ranadive.
NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will pluck ping-pong balls out of the lottery machine as the picks are revealed. In 2018, when Fox went to Chicago to represent Sacramento, the Kings vaulted five spots to secure the No. 2 pick, which they used to select Marvin Bagley III out of Duke.
The Kings have already brought 18 prospects to Sacramento for pre-draft workouts. They are currently attending the NBA draft combine, which is also being held in Chicago.
This story was originally published May 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
