2024 NBA Draft Lottery Winners and Losers – NBC Connecticut

Sunday’s 2024 NBA Draft lottery helped or hurt teams in their respective rebuild timelines.

Usually the teams with the worst results get first place overall, but that wasn’t the case this year.

The Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets all had the best three chances to win the No. 1 overall spot after a tough campaign, but they were all edged out by the Atlanta Hawks, who didn’t have a strong chance to skip the competition.

So which teams won the draft lottery and who didn’t? Let’s analyze five teams:

WINNER: Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta won the draft despite only 3% odds. This is the franchise’s first lottery win and comes on the heels of a play-in tournament loss where the Hawks finished 36-46. There is no clear consensus on the No. 1 pick this year, but it could be intriguing from a domino effect standpoint if Atlanta decides to move on from star Trae Young.

LOSER: Detroit Pistons

The Pistons once again had a modest season that was not rewarded with at least one of the top two picks. This is the third straight season that Detroit will pick at No. 5 overall after selecting Jaden Ivey in 2022 and Ausar Thompson in 2023. As mentioned above, this year’s prospect pool is not as attractive, this which further hurts Detroit’s chances of landing a big star. pair with Cade Cunningham. Internal growth among its youngsters will again be key.

WINNER: San Antonio Spurs

It may not be much, but it is a partial and marginal victory. The Spurs entered the lottery with the fifth-best odds (10.5%), but ended up landing the fourth overall pick, beating out the Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers. They might not snag a star to pair with Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, but this is an opportunity to sign a high-ceiling talent to patch one of their holes, mainly the leader. San Antonio takes 8th place in the general ranking via the Toronto Raptors.

LOSER: Charlotte Hornets

While the Houston Rockets were ranked in the top three, Charlotte was pushed back to 6th overall. New head coach Charles Lee has a lot to do with the struggles the Hornets have endured in recent years, particularly in terms of developing young talent. LaMelo Ball continues to be the focal point, but last year’s rookie Brandon Miller and center Mark Williams have shown promise. Charlotte hopes to find a gem here.

LOSER: Portland Trail Blazers

Like the Hornets, Portland was also overtaken by two teams and relegated to 7th overall. The Trail Blazers had a lackluster first year in the post-Damian Lillard era, but it may not get better anytime soon. Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant were the team’s top two scorers, but last year’s No. 2 pick, Scoot Henderson, had an up-and-down debut campaign with mostly downs than ups. Let’s see if Portland can also find someone in what could be a breakthrough season for head coach Chauncey Billups.