Last night, the NBA lottery went live on ESPN. The lottery determines what teams will have picks in the NBA draft. The first four picks of the first round are the only picks that are actually up to the lottery. The place the team finished overall in the previous season determines their chance of getting a top four pick. The worst teams get the highest chance to receive a good pick.

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished with the second worst record in the NBA, tied with the Phoenix Suns. This gave them a 14% chance at receiving a top four pick. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers were not lucky and got the 5th pick overall.

Once the top four picks are drawn, the other picks follow in the order of worst team to best team. The teams that lucked out in the lottery this year were the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, New Orleans Pelicans, and the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers got the 4th overall pick, the Knicks got the 3rd, the Grizzlies got the 2nd, and the Pelicans got the 1st overall pick.

This year’s NBA draft is a big deal because of one player: Zion Williamson. No matter what team got the number one pick, they would have chosen Zion because he is that good. Even though it seems like a done deal, the actual NBA draft will take place on Thur sday, June 20th, at 7 p.m.

When Lakewood High School student, Annika Mintzlaff, heard that the Cavaliers received the fifth overall pick she said, “It sucks that they were not able to get the number one pick, but hopefully they will be able to get a good player anyway.”