NBA Tank Magic Numbers

The NBA uses a lottery system to determine which teams get the best picks in the upcoming draft. The worse a team finishes in the standings, the better the chance the team gets a higher draft pick.

Every year a few teams seem to throw in the towel and tank in hopes of getting a higher draft pick.

The Tank Magic Number is the number of games a team needs to lose in order to secure a worse seed in the traditional standings.

Basically, it's the exact opposite of a traditional magic number.

We've taken the traditional standings and flipped them upside down, so in our table, it's still a race to the "top".

Assuming the "better" seed is actually a worse record (#1 seed is the worst record, #2 is the second worst, etc), here are the odds of getting the first pick for next years NBA draft:

1. 14.0% chance of receiving the No. 1 pick
2. 14.0% chance
3. 14.0% chance
4. 12.5% chance
5. 10.5% chance
6. 9.0% chance
7. 7.5% chance
8. 6.0% chance
9. 4.5% chance
10. 3.0% chance
11. 2.0% chance
12. 1.5% chance
13. 1.0% chance
14. 0.5% chance

When a team is guaranteed a reverse top three seed, they are highlighted in green. When they are guaranteed a lottery pick, they are highlighted in yellow. When a team clinches a playoff spot, they are no longer a lottery pick, and are highlighted in red.