The 2018 NBA Draft Lottery won’t take place until mid-May, but in the meantime, the final regular season standings prompted several tiebreaker drawings, and on Friday afternoon, they were completed. While many teams were affected directly by the proceedings, the Milwaukee Bucks arguably had the best afternoon, managing to hold on to their first-round selection.
By virtue of pick protections from a previous trade, Milwaukee was forced to hope that its pick did not fall between No. 11 and No. 16, and heading into the tiebreaker, the Bucks and Suns (via Heat) were drawing for the two spots. Though Phoenix had a chance to own back-to-back selections (with one coming from Milwaukee), Giannis Antetokounmpo and company won the drawing and will pick at No. 17 in the upcoming draft.
Elsewhere, the San Antonio Spurs benefited from a win over the Atlanta Hawks (who owned the first round pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves), and Gregg Popovich’s team will select at No. 18, with the Hawks grabbing the No. 19 pick for the second straight year. The wildest tiebreaker scenario of the day featured a four-way tie for picks 20 through 23, but in the end, the order fell with Minnesota (via Oklahoma City) at No. 20, Utah at No. 21, Chicago (via New Orleans) at No. 22 and Indiana at No. 23 overall.
Finally, there were two lottery-inclusive scenarios, with the Bulls winning a two-way tiebreaker over the Kings (at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively) and the Mavs prevailing over the Hawks for the No. 3 and No. 4 spots. While the odds for each team landing in the top three remain virtually unchanged, Dallas grabs a post-lottery advantage over Atlanta (should both teams land outside the top three) and Chicago does the same when compared to Sacramento.
All told, the current 2018 NBA Draft order is below, with the caveat of the lottery set to take place on May 15 in Chicago.
1. Phoenix Suns
2. Memphis Grizzlies
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. Atlanta Hawks
5. Orlando Magic
6. Chicago Bulls
7. Sacramento Kings
8. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Brooklyn Nets)
9. New York Knicks
10. Philadelphia 76ers
11. Charlotte Hornets
12. LA Clippers
13. LA Clippers
14. Denver Nuggets
15. Washington Wizards
16. Phoenix Suns (via Miami Heat)
17. Milwaukee Bucks
18. San Antonio Spurs
19. Atlanta Hawks (via Minnesota Timberwolves)
20. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Oklahoma City Thunder)
21. Utah Jazz
22. Chicago Bulls (via New Orleans Pelicans)
23. Indiana Pacers
24. Portland Trail Blazers
25. Los Angeles Lakers (via Cleveland Cavaliers)
26. Philadelphia 76ers
27. Boston Celtics
28. Golden State Warriors
29. Brooklyn Nets (via Toronto Raptors)
30. Atlanta Hawks (via Houston Rockets)
