After tonight’s lottery festivities — the Cavaliers and Hornets both lost, while the Kings won — the Nets end the season tied with the Kings for fifth-worst in the NBA, splitting the fifth and sixth-worst ping-pong ball combinations.
Since the total amount of combinations adds up to 151 — an odd number — a coin flip will occur next week to determine which team gets the extra combination. That means the Nets will end up with either a 7.6% chance or a 7.5% chance at the #1 overall pick, depending how that coin flip goes.
The Brooklyn Nets’ chances at keeping their pick stand at 25.3% or 25.4%, depending again on said coin flip. To compare, the Nets had a 25% chance in 2010 of earning the #1 pick. (They picked 3rd). I.E.: it’s not likely, but it’s possible.
Of course, arbitrary discussion over potential lottery probabilities is all theoretical. They won’t get 7.5% of Anthony Davis. They’ll either get to keep their pick or they won’t. And we won’t know the answer to that until May 30th.
