Skip to content

Pelicans win NBA draft lottery, will select No. 1 overall

Gary Dineen / National Basketball Association / Getty

The Big Easy was the big winner of the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery.

The New Orleans Pelicans own the No. 1 selection in this summer's draft, and with it, the right to add Duke phenom Zion Williamson to their roster.

New Orleans' odds of securing the No. 1 pick were just six percent, which was tied for the seventh best among the lottery participants.

Here's how the rest of the lottery unfolded:

Pick Team
1 New Orleans Pelicans
2 Memphis Grizzlies
3 New York Knicks
4 Los Angeles Lakers
5 Cleveland Cavaliers
6 Phoenix Suns
7 Chicago Bulls
8 Atlanta Hawks
9 Washington Wizards
10 Atlanta Hawks (via Dallas)
11 Minnesota Timberwolves
12 Charlotte Hornets
13 Miami Heat
14 Boston Celtics (via Sacramento)

Apart from the Pelicans, the Grizzlies and Lakers made the biggest leaps up the draft board. Memphis will select second overall for the fifth time in franchise history despite entering the lottery with the eighth-best chance of improving their standing. The Lakers, who will select fourth, had even lower odds; their 37-45 record gave them just a 9.4 percent chance of landing in the top four.

With the three worst records during the regular season this year, the Knicks, Cavaliers, and Suns each held a 14 percent opportunity of selecting No. 1 overall and a 52.1 percent chance of remaining among the top four. The Knicks grabbed the third pick, but both the Cavaliers and Suns dropped out.

Two selections changed hands due to outstanding trades. With the Dallas Mavericks' No. 10 selection falling outside the top five, the Hawks added that to their own pick at No. 8, which completes last June's draft-day swap featuring Luka Doncic and Trae Young. Additionally, the Celtics now own the Sacramento Kings' No. 14 pick.

Because their pick fell within the top eight, the Grizzlies will instead owe a top-six protected first-round pick to the Celtics in 2020 - a byproduct of a three-team trade in 2015 which sent forward Jeff Green to Memphis.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox