When is the NBA draft lottery? How to watch, Warriors odds and history
The last time the Warriors participated in the NBA draft lottery, Stephen Curry was coming off his second ankle surgery in one year, Steve Kerr was calling playoff games on TNT and Bob Myers was beginning his first season as general manager. Three championships, two league MVPs and a move to a new arena later, and the Warriors are back in the lottery again.
Every year, the lottery determines the draft order for the non-playoff teams. Each team is assigned odds to land certain picks based on their record. The Warriors, with a league-worst 15-50 record, are tied for the best odds to land to No. 1 pick and are the only team guaranteed a top-five pick.
As Golden State aims to return to contention, the lottery starts a pivotal offseason and will provide them with a resource to add a valuable young talent who could potentially blossom into the next face of the franchise. Here’s what you need to know about how to watch Thursday’s lottery, the Warriors’ chances to get the top pick and how they fared in previous lotteries.
When: The 2020 NBA draft lottery is Thursday, August 20. It will be televised live on ESPN at 5:30 p.m. and will be hosted by the league virtually due to coronavirus pandemic conditions.
How to watch: You can watch live on ESPN, or stream the event on the ESPN and WatchESPN apps.
Warriors’ odds: The Warriors have a 14% chance at the No. 1 pick, a 13.4% chance at the No. 2 pick, a 12.7% chance at the No. 3 pick, a 12% chance at the No. 4 pick and a 47.9% chance at the No. 5 pick. They are tied with Cleveland and Minnesota with equal chances for picks 1 through 4, but are the only team guaranteed that their pick won’t fall outside of the top five.
Draft lottery history: The Warriors have previously been involved in the NBA lottery 21 times in the 35 years since its inception in 1985. The Warriors have moved up in the draft via the lottery three times, dropped down eight times and stayed the same 10 times.
1985: Moved down from No. 1 to No. 7 and drafted Chris Mullin.
1986: Moved up from No. 4 to No. 3 and drafted Chris Washburn.
1988: Moved down from No. 3 to No. 5 and drafted Mitch Richmond.
1990: Moved down from No. 9 to No. 11 and drafted Tyrone Hill.
1993: Moved up from No. 7 to No. 3 and drafted Anfernee Hardaway (who was traded to Orlando for Chris Webber).
1995: Moved up from No. 5 to No. 1 and drafted Joe Smith.
1996: Remained at No. 11 and drafted Todd Fuller.
1997: Remained at No. 8 and drafted Adonal Foyle.
1998: Moved down from No. 4 to No. 5 and drafted Vince Carter (who was traded to Toronto for Antawn Jamison).
1999: Moved down from No. 9 to No. 10 and drafted Jason Terry (who was traded for Mookie Blaylock and the No. 21 pick).
2001: Moved down from No. 2 to No. 5 and drafted Jason Richardson.
2002: Moves down from No. 1 to No. 3 and drafted Mike Dunleavy.
2003: Remained at No. 11 and drafted Mickael Pietrus.
2004: Remained at No. 11 and drafted Andris Biedrins.
2005: Remained at No. 9 and drafted Ike Diogu.
2006: Remained at No. 9 and drafted Patrick O’Bryant.
2008: Remained at No. 14 and drafted Anthony Randolph.
2009: Remained at No. 7 and drafted Stephen Curry.
2010: Moved down from No. 4 to No. 6 and drafted Ekpe Udoh.
2011: Remained at No. 11 and drafted Klay Thompson.
2012: Remained at No. 7 and drafted Harrison Barnes.