Everything you need to know: NBA Draft Lottery

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly Staff

For fans of the process, Tuesday night could be the moment that they have all been waiting for. 

Currently, the Sixers have the fourth best chance of winning the first overall pick, with a 14.7 percent chance at winning the first overall selection, sitting less than one percentage point behind the Los Angeles Lakers.

That is significant because if the Lakers fall out of the top three the Sixers will be awarded their pick. If the Lakers remain in the top three, than the Sixers will have to wait until next year to receive the Lakers first round selection. 

The odds are in the Sixers' favor when it comes to getting the Lakers pick. The Lakers will have a 46.9 percent chance of their pick remaining in the top three, meaning that the most likely scenario is the Sixers receiving a second first round pick this year. Additionally, there is a 49.1 percent chance that the Lakers pick falls to either fourth overall or fifth overall, and a minuscule four percent chance that it lands in the number six spot. 

The Sixers will not only be looking for help from the Lakers, however. The reason that the Sixers have such a similar chance as the Lakers to get the first overall pick is because of the infamous pick swap with the Sacramento Kings, acquired when process engineer Sam Hinkie relieved the Kings of some unwanted contracts by convincing the Kings to send Nik Stauskas, the Kings' first round selection in 2019, and the right to swap first round picks with Sacramento in either 2016 or 2017. 

The Sixers held the first overall pick in the 2016 draft and opted to retain their pick and not swap, so in the event that the Kings' pick lands higher than the Sixers' selection this year, the Sixers will switch their draft position with Sacramento. 

Because of this, all of the Sixers' odds become compounded with the Kings' odds, increasing the chance that the Sixers are awarded a top three selection, and simultaneously reducing the chances that the Lakers remain in the top three. 

The Sixers' odds to land in the top three, with the Kings' selection factored in is 45.2 percent. 

The best-case scenario for the Sixers is to leave the NBA Draft Lottery with the first and fourth overall selections in the draft. There is a 2.43 percent chance this occurs. The most likely scenario for the Sixers to leave with two selections is picks four and five, at 13.88 percent. 

The worst case scenario for the Sixers is that they leave with only one selection, and it sits at seventh overall. Fortunately, there is only a o.80 percent chance of that happening. 

Twitter user @eaglesdiehard provides a complete look at the Sixers' lottery odds:

 

The Sixers will be sending star center and process mascot Joel Embiid as the team's representative at the event. Expect Jojo to do something to send the Sixers' twitter following into a frenzy during the event. The lottery itself will be conducted by the league's deputy commissioner Mark Tatum.

HOW TO WATCH

Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Time: 8:00 P.M. eastern standard time

Television: ESPN (Comcast/Xfinity channels 34 & 850 HD; RCN channels 363 & 681 HD; DirectTV channel 206; Dish Network channel 140)

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