What's the selection process for the lottery?
This is where things get a bit more technical. Ping pong balls numbered 1-14 are put inside a machine, symbolizing the 14 lottery teams. Within those 14 balls, there's a possibility of 1,001 four-number combinations. Those combinations are then split up between the 14 lottery teams. To determine the No. 1 pick, individual ping pong balls are selected to create a four-number combination. The team that matches up with the combination chosen is then awarded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. That same process is then done again to determine picks second through fourth.
Once that process is completed to determine the top four picks of the draft, the remaining order (spots 5-14) is set in inverse order of their 2022-23 regular season record. In other words, the teams with the worst remaining records pick higher than those who finished with better records.
