The NBA broke a pair of ties when it came to the draft order in the 2020 NBA Draft on Monday, one of those in the lottery and one in the latter stages of the first round.
The Pelicans and Kings were tied for the 12th and 13th picks coming into the day while the Thunder, Jazz and Rockets were tied at the bottom-half of the draft. The league broke the ties via coin flips.
Sacramento won the first coin flip to land the 12th-best lottery odds, dropping the Pelicans to the 13th-best odds. The difference for the Pelicans in percentages is minimal that deep in the lottery as New Orleans’ odds at the No. 1 pick dropped from 1.3% to 1.2%.
Interestingly, the odds of the Pelicans moving into the top four in the 2020 draft lottery (5.7%) is only marginally worse than the Pelicans odds last year of moving into the No. 1 spot (6.0%). While lightning doesn’t strike twice, as the old adage goes, there is a recent precedent for the Pelicans jumping up in the draft.
At the other end of the first round, the Thunder “won” the coin toss to land the No. 21 pick, but that pick will go to the Philadelphia 76ers. Houston landed No. 22, but that pick will go the Nuggets and Utah will draft 23rd.
