The big day is here for Wizards fans!
The 2023 NBA Draft Lottery is tonight on 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Washington Wizards and other non-playoff teams will be in attendance to figure out their fate as to where their first round pick will be.
The odds
The Wizards have the following chances for each of the picks:
- 1st pick: 6.7%
- 2nd pick: 7.0%
- 3rd pick: 7.4%
- 4th pick: 7.8%
- 8th pick: 32.9%
- 9th pick: 31.1%
- 10th pick: 6.6%
- 11th pick: 0.4%
- 12th pick: Negligible chance
Will the Wizards be NBA title contenders with Victor Wembanyama?
To me, I think the Wizards would have a playoff caliber team with Wembanyama as the first overall pick, but I doubt that a quartet of Wembanyama, Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis would make the Wizards a Top-3 team in the East. Wembanyama is widely projected to go No. 1 overall this year.
Shaun Powell of NBA.com would seem to agree, and I think he offers a pretty pessimistic take on where the Wizards would be, saying that they would likely be a 45-win team.
Let us know your last minute thoughts on the draft lottery in the comments below.