The NBA Draft lottery takes place tonight at 8:30 PM on ESPN live from the NBA offices in Secaucus, NJ. Twelve teams will have a shot at the #1 pick with the Minnesota Timberwolves holding the most ping pong balls. Minnesota has a one in four shot at the top pick and should they get it, we could very well see the T'Wolves take a point guard once again. Two years ago they infamously took Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn with the 5th and 6th picks in the draft. Then they took another PG, Ty Lawson, with the 18th pick. Rubio is still in Spain and Jonny Flynn is... just a guy.
The PGs drafted after Rubio Flynn? Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings and Jrue Holiday. Makes the T'Wolves look even worse.
Despite the fact that Irving played just 11 games at Duke in his college career, many scouts see him as potentially the best player in the draft. ESPN's Chad Ford has him at the top of the "Top 100 Prospects" list.
Irving may have only played 11 games this season, but he enters the draft as the odds on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. Irving is one of the most complete prospects in the draft. He has speed, quickness and range on his jumper. He's excellent penetrating to the basket, sees the floor well and is a leader on the court. He's not particularly elite in any one category, but the overall package is pretty impressive.
The winner of the top pick could also go with a surprise and there's some chatter that Enes Kanter from Turkey could end up as the top guy by the time the draft rolls around. Kanter is a 6-11 big man, who started playing pro basketball in Europe when he was 16. After dominating at the Nike Hoop Summit, he actually signed to play for Kentucky, but was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. He's athletic for a big man and has the ability to shoot 18 foot jump shots with regularity as well as NBA three pointers. If a team like Washington, who already have a PG in John Wall, were to win the lottery, Kanter could have a real shot at being the top pick.
Here are all the lottery teams with their percentage chance of getting the #1 overall pick.
| Minnesota | 25% | ||||
| Cleveland | 19.9% | ||||
| Toronto | 15.6% | ||||
| Washington | 11.9% | ||||
| Sacramento | 7.6% | ||||
| Utah (from NJN) | 7.5% | ||||
| Detroit | 4.3% | ||||
| Cleveland (from LAC) | 2.8% | ||||
| Charlotte | 1.7% | ||||
| Milwaukee | 1.1% | ||||
| Golden State | 0.8% | ||||
| Utah | 0.7% | ||||
| Phoenix | 0.6% | ||||
| Houston | 0.5% |