As the regular season winds down, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on how the summer’s draft order will play out. Our 2013/14 NBA reverse standings, which list the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, are updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the games from the previous day.
These reverse standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what this year’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. Traded picks are also included via footnotes, so, for instance, the note next to the Mavs’ pick indicates that it will be sent to Thunder if it doesn’t fall within the top 20. Given those conditions, the Thunder probably wouldn’t mind seeing the regular season end today, since the pick is currently projected to land 21st overall.
With less than two weeks to go in the regular season, that and other battles for draft position have become paramount for some teams, and unlike last year, when there were no legit blue chip prospects to dream about, there’s a lot at stake. This year’s draft class figures to include Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, Dante Exum, and Marcus Smart. The general consensus among draft experts is that any one of those players, and perhaps others, would have had been selected first overall if they’d been available in 2013. So, it’s worth getting excited if your favorite team has a shot at a lottery pick.
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 this year. Be sure to check back often!