Watch the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Wednesday morning (1:30am)
Wednesday 15 May 2019 04:40, UK
One of the most pivotal days of the NBA season is almost upon us as teams prepare to learn their fate in the 2019 Draft Lottery.
Here's everything you need to know:
The 2019 NBA Draft Lottery will take place on the evening of Tuesday, May 14 in Chicago. The results will be aired at 8:30pm local time, which is 1:30am on Wednesday morning in the UK.
The draft itself will be held in Brooklyn on June 20, at which point the playoffs will have been completed.
A new system will be implemented for the 2019 draft, with the changes designed to disincentivise teams from losing intentionally to try and land the top pick - otherwise known as tanking.
The revamped format will level the odds at the top of the lottery so that the teams with the three worst regular-season records will each have a 14 percent chance of landing the top pick. In the pre-2019 structure, the top seed had a 25 percent chance of winning the lottery, the second seed had a 19.9 percent and the third seed had a 15.6 percent.
The odds for the remaining participants in the 14-team lottery will be reduced gradually after the top three. For instance, the difference in lottery odds between the first three seeds (14 percent) and the fourth seed (12.5 percent) will be 1.5 percent. The difference between the fourth seed and the fifth seed (10.5 percent) will be 2 percent, and the difference between the fifth seed and the sixth seed (9 percent) will be 1.5 percent.
Some protection remains for the team with the worst regular season record (the New York Knicks), who are guaranteed to receive no worse than the fifth pick. Under the pre-2019 system, the team with the worst record would pick no lower than fourth. This is because only the first four picks are decided by lottery draw, with the remainder picked in inverse order or regular season record.
* The Memphis Grizzlies' pick may be conveyed to Boston
** The Dallas Mavericks' pick may be conveyed to Atlanta
*** The Sacramento Kings' pick will be conveyed to Boston via Philadelphia and to Philadelphia
The selections for the remainder of the first round (No. 15-30) and the entire second round (No. 30-60), are determined by reverse order of regular season record. Each team gets one selection in the first round and one selection in the second round.
Many have assessed this year's class as top-heavy, with the top three prospects standing out from the rest, making the lottery more crucial than ever.
Zion Williamson - Forward
There is one player who stands out among the standouts, 18-year-old Zion Williamson. Having risen to fame as a viral sensation thanks to his stunning dunks in high school, Williamson's trajectory to the top of the sport continued in his one year at Duke as he was named the best college basketball player of the season.
Blessed with size, skill, and freakish athleticism, there is little doubt that the team who wins the lottery will select Williamson, and land a potentially transcendent talent in the process.
Ja Morant - Guard
Perhaps the player to elevate himself most during college basketball's NCAA tournament, Ja Morant has emerged as the top backcourt prospect.
The 19-year-old averaged 24.5 points and 10.0 assists per game for Murray State this season and played his best basketball under the most pressure as he hit a game-winner to send his team to their conference championship.
RJ Barrett - Forward
A teammate of Williamson's at Duke, RJ Barrett made a strong impression of his own this season as he averaged a conference-leading 22.6 points per game to go along with 4.3 assists per outing.
The 18-year-old already possesses an NBA-ready body and his wide skill-set should enable him to make an instant impact in the pro ranks.
The variety of representatives sent by participating teams adds another layer of interest to lottery night.
Last year's top pick DeAndre Ayton will be representing the Phoenix Suns, while Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma will be in attendance on behalf of his franchise.
But perhaps the biggest draw of the night will be Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, who will be representing the Knicks, where he spent the vast majority of his career.
Knicks fans will be hoping Ewing's presence can help secure a player in Williamson that could match, or even exceed, his exploits with the franchise.
