Spurs lose lottery tie-breaker to Rockets, finish with 3rd worst NBA record
The San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets tied for the second worst record in the NBA at 22-60 in the 2022-23 season. On April 17th, Houston won a coin-flip that guarantees them the draft odds that go with the 29th worst team, including a top-six pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The Spurs will be considered the third worst team in the NBA, and will have a top-seven pick in the draft.
San Antonio, Houston and Detroit all still have equal chances at the #1 pick, as well as getting a top-four selection. If the three of them don’t select in the first four picks, the Spurs would slide down to 7. If just one of those three teams select in the top 4, then San Antonio falls to 6, and if two of the three draft in the first four picks, they will pick at 5.
The Spurs odds for each pick are as follows:
- #1: 14.0%
- #2: 13.4%
- #3: 12.7%
- #4: 12.0%
- #5: 14.8%
- #6: 26.0%
- #7: 7.0%
This could turn out to be a big blow for the Spurs, as picking at 7th would mean they may miss out on the star talent in the top-5 of this draft class, including Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Amen Thompson, Brandon Miller and Jarace Walker. Losing the coin flip may make lottery night even more nerve wrecking for fans than it already was, despite the same odds at the top pick as before.
The other big winners of the draft tie breakers was the Miami Heat, who will pick #18 in the draft after winning over the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers.
