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#PHILAFirst: With Lottery 10 Days Away, What You Need to Know
In respect to recent 76ers history, perhaps no event has the potential to carry more significance than the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery. With the right amount of luck, the franchise could find itself, even more so than the last three years, in position to obtain promising young talent capable of turning around the team’s fortunes.

Given that the lottery is fast approaching, Sixers.com felt it might be useful to put together some FAQ items that break down the procedures and all-important implications of what can happen when the league swirls 14 ping pong balls around an air mixing drum.

Here you go...

First things first. When is the NBA Draft lottery?
Hey now. If the date hasn’t been seared into your memory yet, we might have some serious work to do. But, for the sake of moving this exercise along, the lottery is on Tuesday, May 17th, 2016.

Where is the lottery held?
The lottery will again be conducted at the massive New York Hilton Midtown hotel in Manhattan, along the Avenue of the Americas between 53rd and 54th Streets.

Oh, sweet. That’s not too far from Philadelphia. Can I go?
You could, and the team would probably be very appreciative of your efforts and support, but you won’t be allowed into the main auditorium where the lottery is held. League staffers, team personnel, draft prospects, agents, other VIP guests, and media only.

Fine, I’ll stay at home. How can I watch?
ESPN has the television coverage. It’s scheduled to start at around 8:00 PM EST on the 17th, and will precede the station’s Eastern Conference Finals broadcast. The lottery will also be carried on the WatchESPN app.

If, for some reason, you’re unable to stream the event, be sure to follow @Sixers on Twitter for the latest developments.

Alright, talk to me about the draft order.
Gladly. On April 15th, the NBA conducted a series of tiebreakers to determine how all 30 teams will stack up in the draft.

By virtue of their 10-72 record last season, the Sixers are positioned first overall in the draft order; howev ---

Wait. If the Sixers are already first in the draft order, then what’s the point of the lottery?
Patience. We were just about to get to that.

Even though the Sixers are indeed first in the draft order, that list really only sets in stone the positioning of the draft’s 16 non-lottery (playoff) teams. Each club slotted one through 14, which represents the lottery portion of the draft order, has a shot at landing the top overall pick.

What the final draft order does reflect - in descending order - is which teams have the highest odds for the number one pick.

Ooooh, the odds. Explain how that works. Seems like there’s a lot going on.
There is, especially given the multiple factors at play for the Sixers. Before you interrupt, we’ll review those in a moment. But first, the odds.

The odds are a reflection of the 1,001 possible numerical combinations that can be derived from random drawings of four separate ping pong balls numbered one through 14. The 14 lottery teams are each designated a specific number of numerical combinations (done so in sequential order) based on the inverse of their finish in the league standings. The numerical combinations tied to the 14 draft order slots go as follows:

Slot - Number of Combinations
#1 - 250

#2 - 199

#3 - 156

#4 - 119

#5 - 88

#6 - 63

#7 - 43

#8 - 19

#9 - 19

#10 - 18

#11 - 8

#12 - 7

#13 - 6

#14 - 5

Doesn’t that only add up to 1,000 different numerical combinations? What about the 1,001st one?
The last of the possible numerical combinations generated by the selection of four ping pong balls is “11 - 12 - 13 - 14.” If that combination is drawn, the league dismisses it, resets the air mixing machine, and selects four new ping pong balls out of the 14 balls swirling around in the drum.

This is kind of dense.
Totally. If what we’re writing isn’t making any sense, try to set aside about 12 minutes, and watch the video recording of last year’s drawing. The whole process is explained very thoroughly, and the visual aid is helpful.

Also worth noting is that the lottery machine is only used to determine the order of the first three picks in the draft. From there, the remaining lottery teams are put into the final 11 slots based on the league’s inverted standings.

Ok, thanks. But the reason I started reading this article was to get the lottery scoop on the Sixers. I need more than what you’ve given me.
Right. As we said earlier, the Sixers, based upon their finish last year, have the highest probability of acquiring the number one overall pick. That odds for winning that slot would normally be 25.0% (250 out of 1,000 numerical combinations). This, however, is no normal year.

Why not?
Remember last July, when the Sixers swung a very favorable trade with the Sacramento Kings? Not only did the Sixers pick up Nik Stauskas and Carl Landry, they also obtained the right to swap this year’s first-round draft slot with Sacramento, in addition to picking up the Kings’ 2018 first-round choice.

So, this year, when weighing the Sixers’ odds for the number one pick, Sacramento’s 19 numerical combinations must be accounted for as well.

I get it, but just give me the Sixers’ gosh darn odds already!
Sorry, sorry. Combined with Sacramento’s odds, the Sixers’ probabilities for the top four picks are as follows:

Slot - Probability (w/ Sacramento odds)
#1 - 26.9% (normally 25.0%)

#2 - 22.6% (normally 21.5%)

#3 - 18.2% (normally 17.7 or 17.8%)

#4 - 32.3%

Taking a look at some key aggregate probabilities associated with the Kings’ pick, there’s a 49.5 percent chance the Sixers will pick first or second in the draft, and a 67.6 percent chance they’ll snag one of the top three spots. The Sixers can drop no lower than fourth overall.

If the Sixers decide not to change spots with the Kings, then Sacramento keeps its pick.

And then there’s the Lakers’ pick, right?
And then there’s the Lakers’ pick.

Los Angeles, which went 17-65 this season, holds the second-highest odds for the number one pick; however, the Lakers’ pick is top-three protected. The Sixers acquired the pick from the Phoenix Suns in February 2015 as part of a three-way deal that sent Michael Carter-Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Taking the Lakers’ top-three protection into account, there is a 44.2 percent chance that their pick conveys to the Sixers at either number four or number five. The probability for Los Angeles slipping to fourth is 31.9 percent, and 12.3 percent for fifth.

That math is impressive. How were you able to figure all that out?
We didn’t. The website lotterybucket.com provides a terrific breakdown of all the probabilities associated with this year’s draft.

One more thing about the odds. Let’s say the Lakers’ pick does convey. What are some of the probabilities associated with the Sixers coming away with two of the top five picks?
The best outcome the Sixers can hope for - based on their own pick and the conditions of the Kings and Lakers deal - is the first overall selection, and the fourth overall selection. There is a 13.4 percent chance that scenario plays out.

As for the likelihood of the Sixers getting both the second and fourth overall picks, the odds are at 10.6 percent.

Copy. Now, with all due respect, this article has kind of gone on long enough. Might be time for you to land the plane. Any other final tidbits worth sharing?
Just a couple, if you’ve got another minute or two.

Remember, while the status of the Lakers’ first-round pick won’t be known until the night of the lottery, the Sixers are guaranteed two other first-round selections. They own Miami’s pick at 24th overall, and Oklahoma City’s choice, which is 26th overall. Since the Heat and Thunder both qualified for the playoffs, their picks are not impacted by the lottery.

Also, if you’re into historical footnotes related to the Sixers and the lottery, here are a few that stood out:

This year is the first time since the NBA implemented its weighted lottery system in 1990 that the Sixers have held the highest odds for the number one pick.
The Sixers have once previously won the league’s weighted lottery system, doing so in 1996, when they took Allen Iverson out of Georgetown. The Sixers also had the top pick in the 1973 draft, and used the choice on Doug Collins. At that time, though, the draft order was not set via a lottery system.
Philadelphia’s four longest-operating professional sports franchises have had the number one pick in their respective league’s drafts a total of seven times. In addition to the Sixers in 1973 and 1996, the Eagles went first in 1936 (Jay Berwnager), 1937 (Sam Francis), and 1949 (Chuck Bednarik); the Flyers in 1975 (Mel Bridgman); and the Phillies in 1998 (Pat Burrell).
Since the NBA implemented its weighted lottery system in 1990, only once has a team held two of the top four picks in a single draft. In 2011, the Cleveland Cavaliers chose Kyrie Irving first overall, and Tristan Thompson fourth. Prior to the existence of the weighted lottery system, there were four instances, according to The Elias Sports Bureau, in which a team was in possession of two of the top four selections; 1967 (Detroit), 1975 (Atlanta), 1977 (Milwaukee), and 1983 (Houston).