Hawks Improbably Win NBA Draft Lottery, Secure First Overall Pick

The Hawks had just a 3% chance to win the lottery.

May 12, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; A overall shot of the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks must have been feeling lucky.

Atlanta, after winning 36 games and advancing to the NBA Play-In Tournament in the 2023-24 season, stunningly won the NBA draft lottery after having just a 3% chance to do so entering the reveal on Sunday at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. It's the first time in franchise history that the Hawks have won the lottery.

Of course, Atlanta's incredible fortune meant that another team suffered great misfortune—and that team was the Detroit Pistons, who ended up with the fifth pick after sporting an NBA-best 14% chance to walk away with the draft's top selection on the heels of a 68-loss campaign this past season.

Here is the full order of picks 1-14 after the lottery, courtesy of the NBA's account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The final results from the 2024 #NBADraftLottery presented by State Farm:

1. Hawks
2. Wizards
3. Rockets
4. Spurs
5. Pistons
6. Hornets
7. Trail Blazers
8. Spurs
9. Grizzlies
10. Jazz
11. Bulls
12. Thunder
13. Kings
14. Trail Blazers

— NBA (@NBA) May 12, 2024

For a second consecutive year, both Texas teams, the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, landed selections inside the top-five. The Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, the Spurs again, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Utah Jazz rounded out the top-10.

For the first time in league history, the NBA draft will expand to a two-night format. The first round of the draft will take place on Wednesday, June 26 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y, with the second round on June 27 at ESPN's Seaport District Studios in New York.