Atlanta Hawks land top pick in 2024 NBA Draft

The lottery is over, the order has been dealt, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the odds to come out on top, when they secured the top overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft.

This is the first time the Hawks have won the top pick via a draft lottery in franchise history. They had the No. 1 overall pick in 1975, via the New Orleans Jazz, and selected David Thompson.

Triumphant Hawks general manager Landry Fields celebrated the reveal Sunday afternoon on live television as the team’s representative on hand when the order of the first two selections was revealed.

Fields flashed a big smile when the Washington Wizards — who had the second-worst record in the NBA at 15-67 last year — were announced as having landed in second place, giving the top pick to Atlanta.

The Hawks (36-46) had just a three percent chance of receiving the top pick, compared to a 65.91 percent chance of picking tenth overall. This is the fifth-lowest odds ever for a team to end up with the first selection in the lottery.

The Houston Rockets will select the third spot, while the San Antonio Spurs will take the fourth spot.

Despite the worst record in the league (14-68) and the best odds of winning the lottery, the Detroit Pistons fell all the way to the fifth pick.

The top ten will be completed by the Charlotte Hornets (No. 6), the Portland Trail Blazers (No. 7), the Spurs (No. 8), the Memphis Grizzlies (No. 9) and the Utah Jazz (No. 10 ).

The Chicago Bulls will be 11th, while the Oklahoma City Thunder will be 12th. The Sacramento Kings are 13th and the Trail Blazers are 14th.