Raptors Clinch Seed in NBA Draft Lottery with Loss to Heat

The Toronto Raptors have clinched the sixth spot in the NBA Draft Lottery thanks to Friday's loss to the Miami Heat

The Toronto Raptors have clinched.

This wasn't what anyone had hoped for back when the season began, but a 15-game losing streak and a 3-20 record dating back to the end of February have allowed Toronto to claim the sixth-worst record in the NBA thanks to a 125-103 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday night.

This wasn't what Toronto had planned.

Even trading away Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby earlier this year, the organization remained determined to see Scottie Barnes lead Toronto's new young core as far as he could. For a moment, it looked like that might involve a play-in berth.

“We’re going to prioritize seeing this group play,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said following the trade deadline. “If it ends up that we’re in the top six or out of the top six, especially the way that the new NBA rules are, to try and game that doesn’t make a ton of sense.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the lottery balls. So I don’t think there’s a ton of let’s do this or that, but I think the big priority for us is playing that young group together.”

But the loss of Barnes and eventually Jakob Poeltl made losing inevitable.

It's given Toronto a 45.8% chance to keep the top-six protected first-round pick the organization traded to San Antonio at last year's trade deadline for Poeltl. Toronto has a 37.2% chance to land a top-four pick or an 8.6% to land the No. 6 pick. Otherwise, the pick will head to the Spurs who have a 54.2% chance to land Toronto's pick anywhere between No.7 and and No. 10.

Toronto will play one more game Sunday afternoon against Miami that will have no impact on the Raptors for seeding.