The NBA announced the sorting of the tiebreakers prior to the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery later this week, with the Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers coming out as the biggest winners.
The Kings, who saw their playoff hopes fade early in the bubble, were tied with the New Orleans Pelicans with a 28-36 record prior to the NBA restart, but came out on top to move into the No. 12 spot of the lottery. The Pelicans are at No. 13.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (44-28) won a three-way tie with the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz to get into the No. 21 spot in the 2020 NBA Draft, but that 21st pick is going to the Sixers. Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have the Rockets’ 22nd pick:
So as things stand, Philadelphia has OKC’s first-round pick (21) and Denver has Houston’s (22). https://t.co/n6ZRom8F1r
— Jeremy Woo (@JeremyWoo) August 17, 2020
The Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Minnesota Timberwolves might have an equal 14.0% chance at getting the No. 1 overall pick, but these first-round selections are just as important when it comes to lining out trades and making the respective selections ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft.
Here is the current first-round board after the 2019-20 NBA season came to an end this past weekend:
Lottery tiebreakers were sorted out today. pic.twitter.com/cn3nLxClpE
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) August 17, 2020
The Kings might not have had much luck clinching a playoff spot in a truncated restart of the 2019-20 NBA season, but at least this 12th overall selection will give them an outside chance as some top-tier talent.
The Sixers have had a miserable restart with news of Ben Simmons missing the remainder of the season, but they can take some solace in getting the best end out of that three-way tie — a pick they could look to package to get some reinforcements for their star players.
The 2020 NBA Draft Lottery will be held on Aug. 20 and is televised on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The post Kings, Sixers big winners of NBA Draft Lottery tiebreakers appeared first on ClutchPoints.
