Report: Raptors Nearly Landed No. 1 Pick Before Final Ball Was Revealed

The Toronto Raptors were one ball away.

The Raptors were reportedly one of seven teams that had a chance to land the No. 1 pick when the final ping pong ball was sucked into the NBA draft lottery machine Sunday afternoon, according to The Athletic. Had No. 4 popped up on the final ball, Toronto would have come away with the top selection.

But it was not to be.

Despite No. 4 Scottie Barnes representing the organization at the draft lottery, it was No. 14 that showed up on the final ball, and the top pick in the 2024 NBA draft went to the Atlanta Hawks.

Toronto ended up at No. 8 and will now be forced to convey the pick to the San Antonio Spurs as compensation for the 2023 Jakob Poeltl trade. Had the pick landed in the top six, the Raptors would have kept the pick, but Atlanta and Houston jumped into the top four and Toronto found itself falling out of the top six.

Atlanta made a nine spot jump, cashing in a 3% chance to land the No. 1 pick.

No. 2 will go to Washington who had the second-worst record this past season and therefore entered the draft lottery sitting second in the lottery standings.

Brooklyn's pick jumped up to No. 3 and will be conveyed to the Houston Rockets as compensation for the James Harden trade.

San Antonio moved up one spot to land the No. 4 pick after finishing the year with the fifth-worst record in the NBA.

Detroit had its nightmare scenario, falling from No. 1 in the draft lottery all the way down to No. 5. The Pistons had a 52% chance to land a top-four pick but came away with the worst possible scenario for the team.

Charlotte and Portland both fell three spots and will draft just ahead of the Spurs at No. 8, respectively.

Memphis and Utah will round out the top 10 with the Jazz keeping their first-round pick away from Oklahoma City.

Chicago, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and Portland will select No. 11 through No. 14.

Toronto's first pick will be No. 19, a pick originally owned by the Indiana Pacers. The Raptors also own No. 31, a pick Toronto acquired from the Detroit Pistons via the New York Knicks deal for OG Anunoby.