Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft Lottery Preview
By Chris Guest
Well Hawks fans, the wait is finally over. After a seemingly interminable season of listless performances and immense talent gulfs versus most other teams, the Atlanta Hawks will finally get to see where they will select in the 2018 NBA Draft. The lottery is upon us!
The Atlanta Hawks franchise has rarely been a participant in the tanking sweepstakes in recent history, as the team went to 10 straight playoffs before going 34 games under .500 this season and finishing with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
The last time the Hawks had the best lottery odds was in 2005, following a horrendous 13-69 season. Despite that terrible campaign, the team did not win the lottery, but rather scored the 2nd overall pick. The Milwaukee Bucks, who won 17 more games than the Hawks that season, got the number one overall pick.
With Coach Bud long gone, allowing the franchise to focus fully on the rebuild under the watchful eye of new head coach (and Process-truster) Lloyd Pierce, all eyes are now on how the ping-pong balls will fall on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST.
We’ve outlined all the odds for where the Atlanta Hawks might select in the lottery – from number 1 overall (please, please, please) to number 7 overall (no, no, no) – as well as what players would be the best fits at those picks.