7 Teams that Beat the NBA Draft Lottery Odds

With the NBA Draft lottery scheduled for Monday, May 12th, it is time to take a look at teams that beat the odds. The league flattened the odds starting from 2019, giving each of the top three teams a 14% chance to get the No.1 pick. With that in mind, the teams on this list have jumped three or more positions to get the first pick in the draft. Let’s take a look.

7 Teams that Beat the NBA Draft Lottery Odds

2011 Cleveland Cavaliers

Pre-Lottery Position: No.8

This might be one of the most interesting drafts in history. Here is the interesting part. The Los Angeles Clippers gave away this pick to Cleveland in a trade for Mo Williams. The Cavs had a 2.8% chance to get the first pick, and they beat the NBA draft lottery odds to land Kyrie Irving.

He won Rookie of the Year and was a two-time All-Star when LeBron James joined, and they brought the first and only championship to Cleveland together. Kyrie and LeBron made the Finals together three times.

At the time, the Minnesota Timberwolves had the worst record and a 25% chance of getting to first overall. Instead, they got the second overall pick and drafted Derrick Williams. He lasted seven years in the league before continuing his career in other leagues.

2014 Cleveland Cavaliers

Pre-Lottery Position: No.9

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the luckiest teams in terms of the NBA draft. They have won the draft lottery five times. They had the No.1 pick in 2013 as well. Getting the No.1 pick in the 2014 draft helped Cleveland trade Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love and create a championship roster around LeBron and Irving.

The Milwaukee Bucks had the worst record the previous season, but they picked second. They took Jabari Parker, while the Philadelphia 76ers took Joel Embiid. Here is a fun exercise. If the Cavs picked Embiid and were patient with his injuries, they could have had a trio of Irving, Embiid, and James.

2008 Chicago Bulls

Pre-Lottery Position: No.9

The 2007-08 Chicago Bulls were a mediocre team with Luol Deng and Ben Gordon as their top two players. They had a decent young core, but nothing special. They beat the NBA draft lottery odds in 2008 with just a 1.7% chance to get the No.1 pick. Chicago drafted Derrick Rose, who wound up becoming the youngest MVP winner in league history.

Sadly, injuries derailed his career. But before injuries caught up with Rose, the Bulls looked like a championship contender. Their peak was making the Eastern Conference Finals and losing to the Miami Heat.

2019 New Orleans Pelicans

Pre-Lottery Position: No.7

The 2018-19 New Orleans Pelicans were a mess. Superstar Anthony Davis asked out of town, but the team didn’t trade him at the deadline. After a horrific season, the Pelicans got lucky in the draft. They jumped from No.7 to No.1 and grabbed Zion Williamson.