There’s just one week left in the 2014/15 regular season, meaning that for the 14 teams that don’t make the playoffs, the lottery and the 2015 NBA draft become the primary focus. Much of the draft order and many of the lottery positions remain in flux, and with the Hoops Rumors Reverse Standings, which list the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, you can follow along as it comes down to the wire. We update these standings daily to reflect the outcomes of the games that took place the night before.
The Reverse Standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what the 2015 first-round order would look like if the lottery goes according to the odds. Traded picks are indicated via footnotes. For instance, the note attached to the Thunder’s pick shows that they’ll send it to the Sixers if it falls outside the top 18 selections. The final week of the season will determine the pick’s fate, since the Thunder are in 14th place in the Reverse Standings as the non-playoff team with the best record, but they’re only a half-game back of the Pelicans, who occupy the 18th spot.
The existence of the lottery means there’s no guarantee that teams atop the Reverse Standings will draft in the order in which they finish, but the worse a club’s record, the better shot it has at landing the cream of the 2015 draft class. This year’s top prospects include Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay, all of whom carry plenty of star potential.
Our Reverse Standings feature can be found at anytime on our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2015. Be sure to check back often as the season draws to a close!