SI

Hawks Improbably Win NBA Draft Lottery, Secure First Overall Pick

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

Tim Capurso

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

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.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.