Tuesday night marks the lottery drawing for the 2023 NBA draft. Those teams who tanked (and those who didn’t but still couldn’t make the playoffs) now get a chance to draw for the first overall pick in the draft. Rumors about rigging and the lottery go back decades – even to the first NBA lottery, held in 1985. The New York Knicks had the third-worst record in the NBA the season before, and the lottery was conducted by spinning envelopes in a drum, with then-commissioner David Stern picking a team’s envelope out. The NBA had just signed a big TV deal, and the Knicks’ market was much bigger than the ones then represented by Golden State and Indiana (the teams with even worse records from the prior season), so the rumor went that the Knicks’ envelope was refrigerated to make it easier for Stern to “find,”and the envelope also got dented by one of the lottery attendants who put the envelope in the drum. The Knicks won and drafted Patrick Ewing out of Georgetown. He didn’t win a title with the Knicks, but the ratings went nuts. Let’s look at the odds that each lottery team has of winning the top pick this year as you consider your NBA betting on the 2023-24 season.
NBA Betting News: Odds to Win the 2023 Draft Lottery
| Team | Odds (First Pick, Likeliest Pick) |
|---|---|
| Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Antonio Spurs | 14.0%, 5th |
| Charlotte Hornets | 12.5%, 6th |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 10.5%, 7th |
| Orlando Magic | 9.0%, 7th |
| Indiana Pacers | 6.8%, 8th |
| Washington Wizards | 6.7%, 8th |
| Utah Jazz | 4.5%, 9th |
| Dallas Mavericks | 3.0%, 10th |
| Chicago Bulls | 1.8%, 11th |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 1.7%, 12th |
| Toronto Raptors | 1.0%, 13th |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 0.5%, 14th |
Bet on the NBA Finals!
Jeremy Roach has withdrawn from the NBA draft just over a month after he declared for it, and since he has not hired an agent, he has retained his amateur status. He was Duke’s only captain in 2022-23, and he will return for his senior season. It likely helped that Tyrese Proctor, Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell, teammates who are entering their sophomore season, had all decided to return to campus despite being legitimate draft prospects. Roach put up 13.6 points and 3.1 assists per game for the Blue Devils this past season. He had huge games in both contests against top rival North Carolina as well as the ACC title game and the Blue Devils’ first-round NCAA playoff game against Oral Roberts. He does best in an off-ball role, so as Proctor took over more of the point guard duties, Roach was able to score off the ball, particularly on drives to the rim. Over his three seasons at Duke, Roach has averaged 10.3 points per game, starting all three years. Roach’s decision gives second-year head coach Jon Scheyer a terrific roster, as Duke’s recruiting class had already been ranked tops in the nation.
Victor Wembayana of France, of course, is the biggest name in the draft. He plays pro ball in Europe for the Metropolitans 92 to satisfy the one-year requirement that the NBA has with the NCAA. Wembayana is the most anticipated prospect in the NBA in 20 years, and whoever wins the draft lottery will take him. The stress surrounding the draft has made sleep the most important part of Wembayana’s preparation, of all things, but the 7’5” prospects seems unfazed by the process. He showed all kinds of promise in a two-game showcase outside Las Vegas in October, set up for him and Scott Henderson from the G League Ignite. Will he be the next great player? We will see – and so will the team that wins the lottery.
The NBA Draft Combine starts today in Chicago and will last all week. It follows the G League Elite Camp, which gave 44 players the chance to show they belonged at the combine. The combine itself runs seven days and gives draft prospects shots at interviews with NBA clubs, skill work, testing on strength and conditioning as well as five-on-five games. Wembayana will not attend the combine, but other top prospects will be there. Such players as Virginia’s Reece Beekman, Connecticut’s Andre Jackson, Miami’s Isaiah Wong and Missouri’s Kobe Brown can help themselves out at the combine and move into the first round, getting one of those 30 guaranteed contracts.
Live NBA Betting Odds For Today
Xbet Betting Lines for the Game
NBA Odds
Love betting NBA basketball? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date NBA lines for Playoffs
