OKC Thunder Land Fourth-Highest Draft Lottery Odds

It came down to the final day of the regular season, but the Oklahoma City Thunder dropped a game against the LA Clippers to lock in their lottery odds.

Entering Sunday, there was a chance to either tie for the third-highest odds, tie for the fourth-highest or own the fourth-best odds outright. Following a loss by the Thunder, Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, everything fell into place.

Those three loses resulted in the Pistons finishing third, the Thunder finishing fourth and the Pacers finishing fifth in the reverse standings. As such, there will be no ties within the top-five on lottery night. The Houston Rockets finished with the worst record in the NBA for the second-straight season, followed by the Orlando Magic.

With the Thunder landing the fourth-highest lottery odds, they’ll end up with a pick in the top eight once those are finalized. It’s nearly a 50/50 split on their odds to land a pick inside the top five. Additionally, Oklahoma City will have just a 12.5% chance at the No. 1 overall pick.

Regardless of where their pick lands, the Thunder will be looking to acquire another future star to play alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. Although this upcoming class appears to be somewhat top-heavy, Thunder GM Sam Presti is known for finding gems in the draft. Due to this, Oklahoma City not landing a top pick wouldn’t be fully detrimental.

On May 17, the final 2022 NBA Draft order will be finalized. During the draft lottery event, we’ll find out exactly which pick the Thunder will have in the top eight.

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