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Kings fans won’t have to wait long to see if Sacramento moved up in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery on Thursday evening. With the standings reverting back to March 11 and following a coin flip victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Kings are set as the No. 12 team heading into the lottery which begins at 5:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.
The new system put into place before the 2019 NBA Draft stil isl the standard, which gives Sacramento slightly improved odds of moving up the draft board. In addition, the top four spots now are up for grabs, compared to the top three spots in drafts before the 2019 draft.
The Kings didn’t have a 2019 pick, so for many Kings fans watching the festivities, the process is slightly different.
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WIth the No. 12 spot in the lottery, the Kings have a 1.3 percent chance of landing in the top spot overall. The numbers improve to 1.4 percent for the second pick, 1.6 for No. 3 overall and 1.8 for the fourth pick for a total of a 6.1 percent chance of breaking into the top four.
Sacramento has an 86.1 percent chance of landing the No. 12 pick and a 7.6 percent chance of falling to No. 13. There is also a .1 percent chance that both the No. 13 and No. 14 picks move ahead of the Kings into the top four and push Sacramento down to the final lottery position.
In part due to the coronavirus pandemic and an abbreviated NCAA season, there isn’t a consensus No.1 pick in this year’s draft, although Georgia’s Anthony Edwards is garnering the majority of top spots in most mock drafts.
The top tier of players includes LaMelo Ball (Australia), James Wiseman (Memphis), Obi Toppin (Dayton), Onyeka Okongwu (USC), Deni Avdija (Israel), Isaac Okoro (Auburn) and Tyrese Haliburton (Iowa State).
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It’s a wide-open race for the top spot, although the process will be hampered greatly by virtual combines and no in-person meetings for most teams.
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Here is the lottery order stands heading into Thursday evening.
1. Warriors
2. Cavaliers
3. Timberwolves
4. Hawks
5. Pistons
6. Knicks
7. Bulls
8. Hornets
9. Wizards
10. Suns
11. Spurs
12. Kings
13. Pelicans
14. Grizzlies (If outside of top four, goes to Celtics)
If the Kings’ logo isn’t one of the first three pulled from the envelopes, that means they have jumped into the top four of the draft, like they have in the previous two drafts in which they owned first-round selections.
Sacramento moved from No. 8 to No. 3, before settling in at No. 5 after a pick swap in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Kings selected De’Aaron Fox with that pick and their star point guard will represent them at the virtual lottery on Thursday evening.
During the 2018 NBA Draft, the Kings moved from the No. 7 pick to the No. 2 pick during the lottery, where they selected Marvin Bagley III.
In addition to the Kings selecting in the lottery, they also own picks No. 35, 43 and 52 in the second round.