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SALT LAKE CITY — On birthdays and at Christmas time, Collin Sexton's great-grandmother gave him a $2 bill as a sign of good luck. On Tuesday, Sexton will bring some $2 bills with him as he represents the Utah Jazz on stage for the draft lottery results.
"I will have a few of 'em in my pocket so we can get a great, great draft pick," Sexton said in a team-released statement.
A great draft pick could go a long way in the Jazz opening up a championship window — especially if it's the top pick.
The Jazz have a 4.5% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday, and with it likely comes a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama. The towering French prodigy is widely considered the best prospect since LeBron James came out of high school 20 years ago.
The other top three lottery spots will likely be used on point guard Scoot Henderson, forward Brandon Miller, and athletic wing/guard Amen Thompson. The Jazz have a 20.3% probability of climbing into the top four in the lottery.
How does the lottery work?
Jazz owner Ryan Smith will be the first one in the organization to know if Sexton's $2 bills brought the organization luck.
The actual lottery will take place just before ESPN's national broadcast (6 p.m. MDT on Tuesday) and will determine the first four picks in the draft. In attendance will be representatives from each of the teams in the lottery, NBA officials and representatives, select media, and representatives from the accounting firm Ernst & Young. Smith will be the Jazz's representative at the drawing.
And, yes, it is a drawing.
Fourteen pingpong balls, numbered 1 through 14, will be placed in a lottery machine, and a four-ball combination will be mixed and selected.
There are 1,001 possible combinations; and before the lottery, 1,000 of those are assigned to the 14 participating teams (the Jazz will have 45 combinations). The team that has been assigned the first combination selected will receive the No. 1 pick. The process will then repeat to determine the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 picks.
Lottery odds
Here are the chances for each team to get the No. 1 pick and to climb into the top four of the draft.
- Detroit Pistons: 14%, (52.1% top four)
- Houston Rockets: 14%, (52.1%)
- San Antonio Spurs: 14%, (52.1%)
- Charlotte Hornets: 12.5%, (48.1%)
- Portland Trail Blazers: 10.5%, (42.1%)
- Orlando Magic: 9.0%, (37.2%)
- Indiana Pacers: 6.8%, (29.4%)
- Washington Wizards: 6.7%, (29%)
- Utah Jazz: 4.5%, (20.3%)
- Dallas Mavericks: 3%, (13.9%)
- Chicago Bulls: 1.8%, (8.5%) — pick goes to Orlando if the Bulls don't move into the top four.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 1.7%, (8.0%)
- Toronto Raptors: 1.0%, (4.8%)
- New Orleans Pelicans: 0.5%, (2.4%)
How to watch
Date: Tuesday, May 16
Time: 6 p.m. MDT
TV: ESPN
