The Charlotte Hornets received another gift of lottery luck. Since they finished tied with the Blazers for the third worst record in the league, a random drawing was done to see who would slot in at the third slot and fourth slot in the lottery. The winner of that drawing was your very own Charlotte Hornets.
NBA Draft tiebreaker results:
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 22, 2024
No. 3 pick: Charlotte Hornets
No. 4 pick: Portland Trailblazers
That gives the Hornets ever-so-slightly better odds to win the lottery (13.3% vs 13.2%), but more importantly, it means the Hornets would pick ahead of the Blazers should neither team get their lottery balls drawn. The Hornets can pick no lower than 7th, while the Blazers could fall to 8th.
It’ll likely end up proving inconsequential, as the odds of neither team getting their lottery combination drawn for the first four picks is less than 25%. And with the way the talent looks in this draft, the difference between picking 7th and 8th isn’t going to kill you. But still, it’s nice to see a little but of good fortune go the way of a Hornets organization that doesn’t get a lot of it, and it’s always nice to have a higher pick where you are more likely to get the guy you want.
The Hornets will go into the draft lottery next month with a 13.3% chance of securing the number one overall pick, which almost seems destined to fall into their lap one year too late and in a draft where there is no number one pick. They’ll have a 50.3% chance of picking in the top four.
The lottery is currently scheduled for May 12, which is a Sunday and also Mother’s Day. That’s a little weird since the lottery is almost always held during the week. Just make sure to warn your mothers that you may have to step away from dinner to watch a man pull team logos out of an envelope.
