2013 NBA Draft Tiebreakers, Tentative Order

The 2013 NBA draft lottery doesn't take place until May 21st, so we won't know the complete draft order until then. But today the league announced the winners of a number of tiebreakers, locking the draft "seeds" in place as we approach the lottery.

As we explain in the Hoops Rumors glossary, when two lottery teams finish tied in the standings, they split the difference when it comes to odds of landing a top pick. For instance, since the Pistons and Wizards tied for the league's seventh-worst record (29-53), each team's chances of landing the first overall pick will be an average of the seventh- and eighth-best odds (4.3% and 2.8%). Because the Pistons won the tiebreaker, they'll receive slightly better odds than the Wizards (3.6% to 3.5%) and will draft ahead of Washington if neither team lands a top-three pick.

Here are the complete results of today's tiebreakers:

  • Pistons over Wizards for 7th
  • 76ers over Raptors for 11th
  • Rockets over Lakers, Bulls for 18th
  • Lakers over Bulls for 19th
  • Clippers over Grizzlies for 25th

And here's how the overall draft order for the first round will look heading into the lottery. Traded picks are incorporated into the order, and a team's chances of landing the first overall pick is noted in parentheses:

  1. Orlando Magic (25.0%)
  2. Charlotte Bobcats (19.9%)
  3. Cleveland Cavaliers (15.6%)
  4. Phoenix Suns (11.9%)
  5. New Orleans Pelicans (8.8%)
  6. Sacramento Kings (6.3%)
  7. Detroit Pistons (3.6%)
  8. Washington Wizards (3.5%)
  9. Minnesota Timberwolves (1.7%)
  10. Portland Trail Blazers (1.1%). Blazers will send pick to Bobcats if it lands outside of top 12.
  11. Philadelphia 76ers (0.8%)
  12. Toronto Raptors (0.7%). Raptors will send pick to Thunder if it doesn't land in top 3.
  13. Dallas Mavericks (0.6%)
  14. Utah Jazz (0.5%)
  15. Milwaukee Bucks
  16. Boston Celtics
  17. Atlanta Hawks
  18. Atlanta Hawks
  19. Cleveland Cavaliers
  20. Chicago Bulls
  21. Utah Jazz
  22. Brooklyn Nets
  23. Indiana Pacers
  24. New York Knicks
  25. Los Angeles Clippers
  26. Minnesota Timberwolves
  27. Denver Nuggets
  28. San Antonio Spurs
  29. Oklahoma City Thunder
  30. Phoenix Suns

In the second round, teams that lost today's tiebreakers generally move up one spot, while the tiebreak winners move down. For instance, since the Rockets won the three-way tiebreaker at 18-20, Houston's second-round pick would be 20th in the round, while the Lakers and Bulls each move up one spot. Here's how the second round will look, after trades:

  1. Cleveland Cavaliers
  2. Oklahoma City Thunder
  3. Cleveland Cavaliers
  4. Houston Rockets
  5. Philadelphia 76ers
  6. Sacramento Kings
  7. Washington Wizards
  8. Detroit Pistons
  9. Portland Trail Blazers
  10. Portland Trail Blazers
  11. Memphis Grizzlies
  12. Philadelphia 76ers
  13. Milwaukee Bucks
  14. Dallas Mavericks
  15. Portland Trail Blazers
  16. Utah Jazz
  17. Atlanta Hawks
  18. Los Angeles Lakers
  19. Chicago Bulls
  20. Atlanta Hawks
  21. Orlando Magic
  22. Minnesota Timberwolves
  23. Indiana Pacers
  24. Washington Wizards
  25. Memphis Grizzlies
  26. Detroit Pistons
  27. Phoenix Suns
  28. San Antonio Spurs
  29. Minnesota Timberwolves
  30. Memphis Grizzlies
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