The Atlanta Hawks have won the 2024 NBA Draft lottery and will have the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft. This is the first time the Hawks have won the draft lottery in franchise history and the first time since 1975 that they hold the first overall selection.
The Hawks finished the 2023-24 NBA season with a 36-46 record and were the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. They went on to lose their Play-In Tournament matchup against the Chicago Bulls to miss out on the postseason.
Entering the lottery, the Hawks had just a 3% chance to win it. Since the introduction of the lottery in 1985, only four teams with lower odds than the Hawks have ended up with the first overall pick.
The Washington Wizards, who were tied with the Detroit Pistons for best odds at 14%, got the No. 2 pick. The Houston Rockets received the No.3 selection, while the San Antonio Spurs will pick fourth overall.
The Pistons, who had the league’s worst record at 14-68, received the No.5 pick. The same thing happened to Detroit last year when they also had the worst record and only got the fifth overall selection.
Unlike last year, when Victor Wembanyama was the consensus first-overall pick, the 2024 NBA Draft doesn’t have a player that stands above the rest of the class. Currently, center Alex Sarr and forward Zaccharie Risacher, both from France, are in the running to be selected first overall, while Kentucky Wildcats’ guards Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are also believed to have a strong case for being the first players off the board.
