Throughout the 2018/19 NBA season, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on what the 2019 draft order will look like. Our 2018/19 Reverse Standings tool, which lists the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, is updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the previous night’s games.
Our Reverse Standings are essentially a reflection of what 2019’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. We’ve noted each club’s odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, based on the league’s updated lottery format.
In instances where two non-playoff teams or two playoff teams have identical records, the order in our standings isn’t necessarily definitive — for draft purposes, the NBA breaks ties via random drawings, so those drawings would happen at the end of the year. Of course, the 14 non-playoff teams all draft before the 16 playoff teams, even if some non-playoff teams have better records than playoff teams. Our reverse standings account for that.
Traded first-round picks are included via footnotes. For example, the note next to the Clippers‘s pick says that Los Angeles will send that pick to the Celtics if it’s not in the top 14. As of today, the Clips hold a playoff spot and project to have the No. 19 pick, meaning that selection would be sent to Boston.
While the Knicks lost on Monday night in Sacramento, the Suns unexpectedly knocked off the NBA-best Bucks, flipping the order at the top of the Reverse Standings. At 13-51, the Knicks are now a half-game “ahead” of the 14-51 Suns, putting them in the driver’s seat for the most favorable pick in this year’s draft.
While the league’s three worst teams will all have an equal chance at the No. 1 overall pick and a top-four selection, the order of those three clubs remains crucial — the NBA’s worst team can’t fall further than the No. 5 pick, while the third-worst team could end up selecting as low as No. 7.
Our Reverse Standings tracker can be found at anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. 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 2019. So be sure to check back often as the season progresses!
Note: Mobile users are advised to turn their phones sideways when viewing the Reverse Standings in order to see team records and lottery odds.
It’s really nice seeing the bottom teams actually trying to win.
WOW Pacers are 5th best in the league but very underrated…