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Today at 5:00 P.M. PST, the NBA Draft Lottery will take place in Secaucus, New Jersey. Currently, the Sacramento Kings are slated 5th, with a 7.6% (theoretical) chance of winning the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. The Kings have a 25.5% chance of landing in the Top 3. The lowest the Kings can pick is 8th.
Sacramento has NEVER jumped up in the lottery under the current lottery system. They have dropped at least two spots in each of the past three years. Adrienne Maloof will be representing the Kings NBCUniversal and Bravo.
For those who don't know how the lottery works, 14 ping pong balls (numbered 1 through 14) are put in a hopper and withdrawn one at a time until four balls have been drawn. Each team is assigned a certain amount of 1000 possible combinations. The Kings have 76 possible combinations while the Charlotte Bobcats have the most at 250. For all of you lottery conspiracy theorists, the drawing of the ping pong balls is done behind close doors, but with a representative from each team present.
During the public announcing of the draft lottery results, the NBA Deputy Commissioner, Adam Silver, will begin announcing the lottery order from last to first. If any team currently slated before the Kings is not announced, that means they have jumped up. Each team that jumps the Kings vastly reduces the chance the Kings have jumped and greatly increases the chance the Kings have dropped. For reference, the order you want to hear leading up to the Kings slot is: Houston, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Portland, New Orleans, Detroit, Toronto, Golden State, and Portland. If that order remains the same, and the next team announced is NOT the Kings, that means we have jumped.
After the jump is an easy to read table courtesy of Wikipedia of each team's chances of getting each pick. Feel free to make your prediction of the Lottery order in the comments below. Anyone who correctly guesses the exact order of the lottery will be burned at the stake in accordance with StR's strict anti-witchcraft policy.
| Team | 2011-12 record | Lottery chances | Pick | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | |||
| Charlotte Bobcats | 7-59 | 250 | .250 | .215 | .177 | .358 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Washington Wizards | 20-46 | 199 | .199 | .188 | .171 | .319 | .124 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 21-45 | 138 | .138 | .143 | .145 | .238 | .290 | .046 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| New Orleans Hornets | 21-45 | 137 | .137 | .141 | .145 | .085 | .323 | .156 | .013 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sacramento Kings | 22-44 | 76 | .076 | .084 | .095 | - | .262 | .385 | .094 | .004 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Portland Trail Blazers* | 22-44 | 75 | .075 | .083 | .094 | - | - | .414 | .294 | .039 | .001 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Golden State Warriors** | 23-43 | 36 | .036 | .042 | .049 | - | - | - | .600 | .253 | .021 | .000 | - | - | - | - |
| Toronto Raptors | 23-43 | 35 | .035 | .040 | .048 | - | - | - | - | .704 | .165 | .008 | .000 | - | - | - |
| Detroit Pistons | 25-41 | 17 | .017 | .020 | .024 | - | - | - | - | - | .813 | .122 | .004 | .000 | - | - |
| New Orleans Hornets | 26-40 | 11 | .011 | .013 | .016 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .870 | .089 | .002 | .000 | - |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 28-38 | 8 | .008 | .009 | .011 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | .908 | .063 | .001 | .000 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 31-35 | 7 | .007 | .008 | .010 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | .935 | .039 | .000 |
| Phoenix Suns | 33-33 | 6 | .006 | .007 | .009 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | .960 | .018 |
| Houston Rockets | 34-32 | 5 | .005 | .006 | .007 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | .982 |
* Brooklyn Nets get the pick if it lands in the Top 3.
** Utah Jazz get the pick if it does not finish in the Top 7.