Lakers Lottery 2019: Odds Los Angeles Lands No.1 Pick, Chances LA Gets Top-4 NBA Draft Selection

Following a season during which everything seemed to go wrong for the Los Angeles Lakers, the team is hoping to get some luck Tuesday night. L.A. is one of 14 teams that has a chance to win the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery and the right to take Zion Williamson.

LeBron James’ first season in purple and gold wasn’t so bad that the Lakers are among the favorites to land the No.1 overall pick. They’ve got the 11th-best odds with a 2.0 percent chance to land the top selection in the first round.

It’s highly unlikely that the Lakers will win the lottery, but the team does have a real shot to get one of the top picks. Los Angeles has a 9.4 percent chance to land in the top four. The Lakers have a 2.2 percent chance to get the No.2 pick, a 2.4 percent chance to get the No.3 pick and a 2.8 percent chance to get the No.4 overall selection.

If L.A. doesn’t make it into the top four, they won’t do better than the 11th pick. Los Angeles has a 77.6 percent chance to get the No.11 pick, a 12.6 percent chance to get the No.12 selection and a 0.4 percent chance to land at No.13. The odds of the Lakers getting the last lottery pick are barely north of zero percent.

For this year’s draft class, getting a top-three pick is especially important, considering how the best players are perceived.

Williamson is considered to be a can’t-miss prospect and one that could potentially change the future of a franchise. Murray State’s Ja Morant is viewed as a future All-Star point guard that will almost certainly go second overall. RJ Barrett, Williamson's teammate at Duke, has the potential to be an elite NBA star and is expected to be taken by the team with the third pick.

There’s thought to be a major drop off after those three players, giving the Lakers a 6.6 percent chance to take one of the elite players in this year’s draft.

Maybe the Lakers wouldn’t trade the No.1 draft pick if they win the lottery because of Williamson’s potential. The No.2, No.3 pick or No.4 pick, however, would likely be used as trade bait for Los Angeles in their continued pursuit of Anthony Davis.

The lottery is scheduled for Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The actual draft is on June 20.