As the regular season ended Sunday, the NBA is now pivoting their focus to the play-in tournament, and subsequently, the playoffs. But another imperative matter arriving in the offseason is the 2021 NBA Draft, and the league has some sorting out to do.
The conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign has left many teams with identical records, holding implications for draft orders as teams would want their hands on the best players as soon as possible.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the 14 teams enmeshed in these complications, as their 42-30 record is tied with the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks.
But Portland and Dallas had traded their picks. The Houston Rockets own Portland’s first-round selection this year, and the New York Knicks own Dallas’.
All three teams — Los Angeles, Houston and New York — are in position for the 21st pick, but depending on how the draft order plays out, two of those squads must pick at 22 and 23, respectively.
So how is the league planning to settle the order?
According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the NBA will hold coinflips on May 25 to break the various tiebreakers.
Source: coinflips to determine the following tiebreakers for the 2021 NBA draft order will be conducted on Tuesday, May 25 in the early afternoon (ET). Big day for lottery teams. https://t.co/iws03G1jvQ
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 17, 2021
Draft positioning may not seem like the biggest deal for the Lakers, a roster comprising many savvy veterans and stars, especially considering this being a pick in the early 20s.
Most of the palatable talent goes in the lottery, but as evident from Talen Horton-Tucker’s evolution this season — the 46th overall pick in the 2019 draft — the Lakers can select a propitious player wherever the team falls in the pecking order.
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