Race for Wembanyama: Where each team ranks halfway into the season

Simulating which NBA team will win the race for Wembanyama

Thanks to the folks at Tankathon, fans are able to run simulations of the 2023 NBA Draft with the click of a mouse. As a result, I took the liberty of running a few simulations of my own—25 of them, in fact. Here are the results:

Charlotte Hornets-10
San Antonio Spurs- 4
Detroit Pistons-3
Houston Rockets-3
Toronto Raptors-2
Atlanta Hawks-1
Oklahoma City-1
Washington Wizards-1

As you can see in this completely scientific poll, the Charlotte Hornets will end up with the top pick in May and have the chance to draft Wembanyama. Hornets fans rejoice! Fans of the other lottery teams turn away in disguise! In all seriousness, though, if there is one thing that is clear, the recent changes to the draft lottery odds have made a big impact on who can end up with the number one overall pick.

Previously, the teams with the worst and second-worst records had a 25% and 20% chance, respectively, of ending up with the top pick. Now, those odds have been flattened, and five teams have between a 10% and 14% chance of winning the draft lottery.

This may have reduced some, but not all, of the tanking, unlike what the original draft rules did. Ultimately, no matter what the NBA does to discourage tanking, teams are already racing toward the bottom of the standings for Wembanyama.