Kings get extra ping pong ball in pool, as NBA officially establishes draft lottery, tiebreakers

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla .– The NBA announced the results of its draft tie-breakers on Monday, setting the order of the draw Thursday night as well as the 15-60 order of picks for the NBA Draft itself. same, which is scheduled for October 16.

The Sacramento Kings won an extra ping-pong ball in the lottery pool as well as 11th place in the NBA Draft if they, and the teams behind them, don’t go up in a tie-breaker with the Pelicans from New Orleans, with both teams finishing with 28-36 records.

There’s a lottery pick that could change hands, as the Boston Celtics will either get the Memphis Grizzlies first-round pick – currently ranked 14th overall – unless Memphis makes the top-four in this year’s draft. . If that happens, Boston – which also has the 26th and 30th picks in the first round – will receive an unprotected Memphis pick next season.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers were the recipients of a three-way tiebreaker with the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz for 21st place, while Houston won the 22nd draft pick and Utah received the 23rd choice. Philadelphia got that pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder – a pick that the Thunder initially traded in 2016, and was in the top 20 protected this season. The Thunder suffered one less loss than the Miami Heat – due to the skewed schedule caused by the coronavirus pandemic – which means the choice goes to the 76ers.

The NBA has also changed its approach to how it handles the second round. The 14 teams that did not make the playoffs will get 31-44 picks, with their place in the draft determined by their record at the end of the season on March 11. The 45-60 second round selections will be made by the 16 teams. who made the playoffs inside the bubble at Walt Disney World Resort, and will be determined by each of those teams’ record after the eight ranking games.