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2009 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY

Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 8:30 ET on ESPN

Compiled by Mark Malzewski with assistance from Peter Newmann

The Sacramento Kings have the best chance of winning the 2009 NBA Lottery. Since the lottery began in 1985, the Kings have held the No. 1 overall pick only once – in 1989 when they took Pervis Ellison.

Longest Odds Overcome To Win NBA Draft Lottery

Year	Team	Chance to Win	Selected
1993	Orlando	1.5 pct	Chris Webber
2008	Chicago	1.7 pct	Derrick Rose
2000	New Jersey	4.4 pct	Kenyon Martin
2007	Portland	5.3 pct	Greg Oden
2005	Milwaukee	6.3 pct	Andrew Bogut

>> Lottery began in 1985

Most No. 1 Picks: NBA Lottery (Since 1985)

Team: No.

Orlando: 3

Chicago: 2

Cleveland: 2

LA Clippers: 2

Milwaukee: 2

New Jersey: 2

San Antonio: 2

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW

1. This is the 25th year of the lottery, but only four times has the team with the worst record in the league (or tied for the worst) won the lottery: 2004 Magic (Dwight Howard), 2003 Cavaliers (LeBron James), 1990 Nets (Derrick Coleman), 1988 Clippers (Danny Manning).

2. Since the start of the lottery in 1985, 11 of the 24 No. 1 overall picks have gone on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

No. 1 Overall Picks to Win Rookie of the Year: Since 1985

1985-86 Patrick Ewing, New York

1989-90 David Robinson, San Antonio

1990-91 Derrick Coleman, New Jersey

1991-92 Larry Johnson, Charlotte

1992-93 Shaquille O’Neal, Orlando

1993-94 Chris Webber, Golden State

1996-97 Allen Iverson, Philadelphia

1997-98 Tim Duncan, San Antonio

1999-00 Elton Brand, Chicago (Co-ROY with Steve Francis)

2003-04 LeBron James, Cleveland

2008-09 Derrick Rose, Chicago

3. This is the fourth year of the NBA Draft under the new eligibility requirements put in place in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement.

4. There are 103 early entrants who have made themselves eligible for the 2009 NBA Draft - that includes 29 international players and 74 players from U.S. colleges and institutions.

5. This is the fourth year that high school seniors are not eligible for the draft. Last year, 13 freshmen made themselves eligible for the draft, including the top 3 players selected – the first time ever that has happened. This year, only seven freshmen have put their names in.

6. The NBA Draft lottery began in 1985. Since that time, every team in the NBA has had at least one lottery pick. The San Antonio Spurs have had the longest lottery draught among all teams. They have not been in the lottery since 1997, when they won the lottery and selected Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick.

7. The Phoenix Suns have a 0.5 pct chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick, the worst odds among the 14 lottery teams. The Suns (46-36) are the second-best team in the history of the NBA Draft Lottery – following the 2007-08 Golden State Warriors (48-34). The Warriors did not win and selected Anthony Randolph with the 14th pick.

8. The Los Angeles Clippers have made 20 lottery selections, the most of any team. They have won the lottery twice, in 1988 (selected Danny Manning) and 1998 (selected Michael Olowokandi). The Clippers have the third-best chance of winning this year (17.7 pct).

Most Lottery Picks: All-Time (Since 1985)

LA Clippers: 20

Golden State: 16

Sacramento: 13

9. Ten current franchises have never made the No. 1 overall pick in an NBA Draft since 1966 (start of common draft): Boston, Minnesota, Phoenix, Miami, Utah, Seattle/Oklahoma City, Indiana, Memphis, Charlotte and Denver.

Of those teams, Minnesota, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Indiana, Memphis and Charlotte are in the 2009 lottery.

10. So who does win the lottery? Since the lottery moved to its present format in 1994 - albeit with fewer teams (more on this below), the team with (or tied for) the best odds has won three of the 15 lotteries. Meanwhile, the team with the fifth best odds also has won three times. Last year, the Chicago Bulls had a 1.7 pct chance to win, the ninth-best odds.

2009 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY - HOW IT HAPPENS

The 25th annual edition of the NBA Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of 2009 NBA Draft.

Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a drum. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Prior to the Lottery, 1,000 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating Lottery teams by a computer.

The Sacramento Kings finished the season with the NBA's worst record (17-65), so they will be assigned 250 combinations. The Phoenix Suns, the best team in the lottery at 46-36, will have five combinations out of 1,000.

Four balls will be drawn to the top to determine a four-digit combination. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the number one pick. The four balls are placed back in the drum and the process is repeated to determine the number two and three picks. (Note: If the one unassigned combination is drawn, the balls are drawn to the top again.)

The order of selection for the teams that do not win one of the top three picks will be determined by inverse order of their regular season record. Thus, Sacramento can pick no lower than fourth, Washington (19-63) no lower than fifth and the LA Clippers (19-63) no lower than sixth.

The actual Lottery procedure will take place in a separate room prior to the national broadcast with NBA officials and representatives of the participating teams and the accounting firm of Ernst & Young in attendance.

Following the drawing, team logo cards will be inserted into envelopes marked 1 through 14 by an Ernst & Young representative. These envelopes then will be sealed and brought on-stage, where the announcement of the Lottery results will be made by NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. A second representative from each participating team will be seated on-stage. Neither the Deputy Commissioner nor the team representatives will be informed of the Lottery results prior to the opening of the envelopes.

The team whose logo is in the last envelope opened will pick first in NBA Draft 2009, to be held on Thursday, June 25, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.