The Philadelphia 76ers face some reasonable odds entering the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery.
The Philadelphia 76ers have been a staple in the NBA Draft Lottery. They’ve earned a top-three pick in the last three NBA Drafts. This year, they face reasonable odds to possible receive another pick in the top-five. However, this could be the Sixers’ last year in the draft lottery seeing as “The Process” has developed quite nicely.
Center Joel Embiid came along nicely until the team had to sideline him with a meniscus injury. He averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.1 assists in just 31 games, starting in every single game.
Another rookie who came along for the Philadelphia 76ers is stretch-4 Dario Saric. Saric is a 22-year-old player out of Croatia who emerged as a possible sixth man when forward Ben Simmons returns to play the point-forward position. Saric averaged 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists through 81 games for Philadelphia. His 81 appearances show his durability as an NBA professional.
The Sixers have developed a nice young core to with Simmons, Embiid and Saric. They’ve even managed to find a quality backup point guard in T.J. McConnell and a solid wingman in Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, drafted 24th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft.
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After going 28-54 in the 2016-17, the Sixers look like they’ve got the pieces to create a potential playoff team, but they’ve still got the draft lottery to get through. This year, they’ve got a 14.7 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick. Last season, they won the first overall pick and selected Ben Simmons out of LSU in the 2016 NBA Draft. This year’s NBA Draft class is chock full of talent, especially from the three-point line, which is Philadelphia’s biggest need.
Sixers officials have their fingers crossed as they can get two picks potentially in the top-five in the 2017 NBA Draft. Although, they wouldn’t need them, they could potentially move one or both to sweeten the pot when looking to possibly trade center Jahlil Okafor.
Here are Philadelphia’s draft lottery odds:
- 1st: 14.7%
- 2nd: 15.1%
- 3rd: 15.4%
- 4th: 9.9%
- 5th: 31.6%
- 6th: 4.0%
The Philadelphia 76ers will get the Los Angeles Lakers‘ first round pick if the Lakers’ pick falls outside of the top three. The Lakers currently have the biggest odds to get the fifth pick in the NBA Draft Lottery.
The Sixers will get the Lakers’ 2018 first rounder (unprotected) if they don’t get this year’s Lakers pick. The 76ers can also swap picks with the Sacramento Kings if Sacramento somehow ends up with a higher pick.
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The 2017 NBA Draft Lottery is Tuesday, May 16.