NBA Draft: What are the Minnesota Timberwolves’ lottery odds?

Let’s talk about the time, TV info, and Minnesota Timberwolves’ odds in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery.

The Minnesota Timberwolves had the third-worst record in the NBA during the 2019-20 campaign, and it’s finally time to find out what that futility will get them in the draft.

This will only be the second year with the newly-weighted lottery odds, meaning that the Wolves will have the same odds for the No. 1 overall pick as both Golden State and Cleveland, who each finished with worse won-loss records than the Wolves. But more on that in a moment.

When is the NBA Draft Lottery?

The NBA Draft Lottery is tonight, Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. CT. It was rescheduled from it’s usual mid-May date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lottery will be broadcast live on ESPN can be streamed on WatchESPN apps.

The 2020 NBA Draft was also moved. Instead of being held in late June, it is now scheduled for Oct, 16.

What are the Minnesota Timberwolves’ NBA Draft Lottery odds?

For many years, the lottery was entirely weighted, so that the team with the worst record would get the best odds at the No. 1 pick.

While the lottery is still weighted, there is a bit more variance possible throughout. And in a year in which the Wolves finished with the third-worst record, it’s hard to be upset that they’ll still have a legitimate shot at the top selection.

The way the actual drawing is conducted is that only the top four picks are actually pulled from the ping-pong balls bouncing around in the machine. The No. 5 through No. 14 selections are slotted in reverse order of record.

The Wolves, Warriors, and Cavaliers all have a 14 percent chance of landing the top pick, a 13.4 percent chance at No. 2, a 12.7 percent chance at No. 3, and an 11.9 percent chance at the No. 4 pick. All four teams have an identical 52.1 percent shot at staying in the top four.

The Warriors, however, can’t fall lower than No. 5, meaning that they have a 47.9 percent chance at landing there. Cleveland can’t fall beyond No. 6, and the Wolves won’t go any lower than No. 7.

Strangely, that means that Minnesota’s best odds for an individual selection is a 26 percent chance at No. 6. Their next-best odds are 14.8 percent for No. 5, followed by the 14 percent for No. 1.

The in-the-weeds, actual execution of the ping-pong balls is that the Wolves, Warriors, and Cavs all have 140 of the 1,001 combinations. By comparison, Boston, who owns Memphis’ No. 14 selections, has five combinations.

What picks do the Minnesota Timberwolves have in the 2020 NBA Draft?

Obviously, the Wolves will own whatever pick they come out of Thursday’s draft lottery with.

Additionally, they have the No. 17 pick that originally belonged to the Brooklyn Nets, as well as the No. 33 pick, which is their own pick and the third of the second round.

While Minnesota has liiterally never moved up in the NBA Draft Lottery, well … at least we know that they have the same shot at the No. 1 pick as the two teams that are worse than them. And as long as they finish in the top four, it can be seen as staying put, for the most part.

Dropping into the No. 5 to No. 7 range would be more difficult to stomach, of course.

Either way, we’ll be back immediately following the lottery with analysis on where the Wolves land.