May 12, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; A overall shot of the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place West. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images David Banks-Imagn Images

What Kind of Draft Lottery Luck Should Wizards Expect?

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated May 5, 2025 5:00 PM ET

With the NBA Draft Lottery sitting just a week away, excitement has turned to anxiety for fans of the Washington Wizards as they hold realistic hopes of receiving a good pick.

The Wizards and their bottom-two record have already locked in a guarantee that they can fall no further than No. 6 in the draft, and even though they've already tied the Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets for the best statistical shot at getting No. 1, we won't know anthing until next Monday when the draft order is randomly determined and revealed.

Getting the worst regular season record isn't always a surefire guarantee of lottery luck, though, and the order results of the 2020s back up that randomness factor.

Some fans were happy with the Wizards winning their regular season finale on Bub Carrington's buzzer-beating game-winner, even though that one loss cost them from tying the Jazz's league-low 17 wins. The worst team doesn't always get the No. 1 pick, as the Pistons can tell you after back-to-back seasons of leading the NBA in losses just to settle for the No. 5 pick.

BUB CARRINGTON ENDS HIS ROOKIE SEASON WITH A GAME-WINNER

ONLY ROOKIE TO PLAY ALL 82 GAMES pic.twitter.com/kxKFeEK2KK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 13, 2025

There's also usually some fluky riser in the drawing order, as we saw with the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks coming out of nowhere to steal the top pick in 2019 and 2024, respectively. The Wizards got the No. 2 pick last summer, aligning perfectly with their odds, but that's just not something the fans should always expect to happen.

The Wizards see the Jazz and the Hornets as their chief rivals to command the draft, with those three tanking units offering very different histories during this process.

The Wizards have already made multiple selections with the No. 1 pick in the 21st century, taking Kwame Brown in 2001 and John Wall in 2010. Meanwhile, the usually-competent Jazz and the eternally messy Hornets have combined for zero lottery wins across their histories.

They're all hoping for a change of fate next week, and there's nothing anyone can do as fans count down the days until they and their front offices can start game-planning. The Wizards hope to break through after picking No. 10, 8 and 2 over their last three drafts, slowly inching closer to control over the draft board. They have as good a shot as ever to take a franchise player, and their fate is now up to chance.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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