Inside the Article:
The 2022-23 NBA regular season is in the books, and our Detroit Pistons finished with a record of 17-65. That horrendous record was easily the worst in the league as the second-worst team was the San Antonio Spurs, who finished with a 22-60 record. As we know, the NBA has a draft lottery, which means there is no guarantee that the Pistons will land the No. 1 pick, despite them having what was by far the worst record. In fact, two other teams will have the same chances to land the top pick as the Pistons will.
Key Points
- The Pistons finished the 2022-23 NBA regular season with a record of 17-65, the worst in the league.
- The San Antonio Spurs finished as the second-worst team with a record of 22-60.
- Despite having the worst record in the league, the Pistons may not necessarily secure the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery as two other teams will have the same chances to land the top pick.
Detroit Pistons’ odds of landing No. 1 pick in 2023 NBA Draft
Since the Pistons finished with one of the three worst records in the league, they will have a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick. The Spurs and Houston Rockets will also have a 14% chance of landing the top pick as they finished with the second and third-worst records during the regular season.
Here is the full list of the NBA Draft Lottery odds (Via Tankathon):
| PICK | TEAM | RECORD | WIN% | GB | STREAK | L10 | TOP 4 | #1 OVR | |||
| 1 | Detroit | 17-65 | .207 | — | Lost 1 | 1-9 | 52.1% | 14.0% | |||
| 2 | San Antonio | 22-60 | .268 | 5.0 | Won 1 | 3-7 | 52.1% | 14.0% | |||
| – | Houston | 22-60 | .268 | 5.0 | Won 3 | 4-6 | 52.1% | 14.0% | |||
| 4 | Charlotte | 27-55 | .329 | 10.0 | Won 1 | 5-5 | 48.1% | 12.5% | |||
| 5 | Portland | 33-49 | .402 | 16.0 | Lost 4 | 1-9 | 42.1% | 10.5% | |||
| 6 | Orlando | 34-48 | .415 | 17.0 | Lost 4 | 5-5 | 37.2% | 9.0% | |||
| 7 | Washington | 35-47 | .427 | 18.0 | Lost 1 | 3-7 | 29.4% | 6.8% | |||
| – | Indiana | 35-47 | .427 | 18.0 | Won 1 | 3-7 | 29.0% | 6.7% | |||
| 9 | Utah | 37-45 | .451 | 20.0 | Lost 1 | 2-8 | 20.3% | 4.5% | |||
| 10 | Dallas | 38-44 | .463 | 21.0 | Lost 2 | 2-8 | 13.9% | 3.0% | |||
| 11 | Oklahoma City | 40-42 | .488 | 23.0 | Won 2 | 4-6 | 8.5% | 1.8% | |||
| – | Chicago ORL | 40-42 | .488 | 23.0 | Won 2 | 6-4 | 8.0% | 1.7% | |||
| 13 | Toronto | 41-41 | .500 | 24.0 | Won 1 | 6-4 | 4.8% | 1.0% | |||
| 14 | New Orleans | 42-40 | .512 | 25.0 | Lost 1 | 7-3 | 2.4% | 0.5% | |||
Bottom Line: Detroit Pistons need to get lucky
Not to be pessimistic, but despite finishing with the worst record in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons only have a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick, which means they have an 86% chance of not landing the top pick. This year, more than any other we can remember, it would be huge if the Pistons could get lucky and land the top pick as they would be able to select the prized possession, Victor Wembanyama.
