NBA Draft Lottery: OKC Thunder in Running for Multiple Lottery Picks

The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking for some ping-pong balls to bounce their way.

The NBA Draft Lottery, which will take place Sunday afternoon in Chicago, could change the fates of certain franchises. Although there are no prospects like Victor Wembanyama to be the clear top pick, the 2024 draft has some depth.

Fortunately for the Thunder, that depth could lead to an instant-impact player falling to them. The Thunder’s pick is headed to the Utah Jazz near the end of the first round, but Oklahoma City could still have up to two first-round picks this year.

However, the Thunder are likely to end up with only one pick via the Houston Rockets. Thanks to the 2019 Russell Westbrook-Chris Paul swap, the Thunder will land the Rockets’ pick if it lands outside the top four.

If the Rockets don’t keep their pick, the Thunder will likely get the 12th pick from the Rockets, with a slight chance of the pick dropping to 13 or 14. Meanwhile, the path to getting the Jazz pick is much more complicated.

With Utah’s pick top-10 protected, Oklahoma City would need three of the six teams from 9 to 14 to move into the top four. In the unlikely scenario that happens, Oklahoma City would have the No. 11 pick or potentially No. 12 if four teams in that range jump up.

THUNDER DRAFT LOTTERY ODDS:

Houston Rockets - 12th-best odds (92.88% chance of conveying to OKC)

Utah Jazz - 8th-best odds (0.39% chance of conveying to OKC)

0.36% chance of both picks conveying to OKC

7.09% chance of neither pick conveying to OKC

HOW TO WATCH:

Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on ABC

The Thunder’s chances of getting a lottery pick are solid but not guaranteed. Still, the Thunder are fortunate to be in this position regardless of the result.

On Sunday, Oklahoma City will be the only team left in the playoffs that could secure a lottery pick. After a loss in Game 3 in Dallas on Saturday, some lottery luck could help turn the Thunder’s weekend around.

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