Previewing the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery for the OKC Thunder

It is the most wonderful, nervous, stressful, and scariest time of the year. Today, you truly find out if you are a glass half full or glass half empty kind of person. I will ask you this, how does your coffee taste this morning? I am sure it is on one extreme or the other either you think it tastes sweeter than normal and can not wait to cash in a high draft pick in the NBA Draft Lottery tonight…or it tastes bitter in anticipation and the nerves are getting the best of you thinking about all the doomsday scenarios.

16-hours, 50-minutes, and 45-seconds…44….43…42…If you are like me the rest of the day you will be staring at the clock counting down the seconds until the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery as a bunch of ping pong balls rattle around and set up combinations that determine the fate of your favorite NBA organization. Literal ping pong balls are either going to springboard you into a fantastic summer, or a frantic few months of pondering how Sam Presti could yet again make chicken salad out of chicken something else.

2022 NBA Draft Lottery preview, all you need to know about one of the most important Tuesdays in OKC Thunder historic

The 2022 NBA Draft Lottery will start at 7:00 PM Central Time on Tuesday, May 17th, 2022. The Oklahoma City Thunder will send Nick Collison to represent them in Chicago as the Lottery coincides with the start of the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.

The OKC Thunder have two lottery picks which will be decided tonight on ESPN, of course, thanks to the New Orleans Pelicans knocking the L.A. Clippers out of the Play-In tournament. That Clippers pick is owed unprotected to the Thunder, and following a 24-58 season, the Thunder’s pick is slotted with the fourth-best odds at the top overall selection.

However, when you factor in the flattened Lottery odds (the bottom three teams all have a 14-percent chance at the first overall pick) and you combine the Clippers’ top pick odds with the Thunder’s, OKC is tied for the best odds at the top selection.

The Odds: 

OKC’s pick: 

1. 12.5-percent chance
2. 12.2-percent chance
3. 11.9-percent chance
4. 11.5-percent chance
5. 7.2-percent chance
6. 25.7-percent chance
7. 16.7-percent chance
8. 2.2-percent chance

L.A. Clippers Pick: 

1. 1.5-percent chance
2. 1.7-percent chance
3. 1.9-percent chance
4. 2.1-percent chance

The Clippers (owed to OKC) can not earn picks 5-11 but have an 86.1-percent chance at pick 12, a 6.7-percent chance at pick 13, and a 0.1-percent chance at pick 14. If Mark Tatum gets to pick 11 and still has not shown an OKC Thunder logo, the Thunder are guaranteed at least one top-four pick.

The Dream Scenario: Picks 1 and 2 (0.26-percent chance of happening)

The most likely Scenario: Picks 6 and 12 (22.76-percent chance of happening)

The worst-case scenario: Picks 8 and 13 (0.33-percent chance of happening)

NBA Lottery Representatives: 

• Charlotte Hornets: PJ Washington, Current player
• Cleveland Cavaliers: Anderson Varejao, Former-player/Team Ambassador
• Detroit Pistons: Richard Hamilton, Pistons Legend
• Houston Rockets: Rafael Stone, General Manager
• Indiana Pacers: Kelly Krauskopf, Assistant General Manager
• New Orleans Pelicans: Swin Cash-Canal, Vice President, Basketball Operations
• New York Knicks: Williams Wesley, Executive Vice President, Senior Basketball Advisor
• Oklahoma City Thunder: Nick Collison, Thunder Legend
• Orlando Magic: Jeff Weltman, President of Basketball Operations
• Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard, Current Player
• Sacramento Kings: Domantas Sabonis, Current Player
• San Antonio Spurs: David Robinson, Spurs Legend and Strategic Partner
• Washington Wizards: Wes Unseld Jr., Head Coach

NBA Draft Coverage is just getting started at Thunderous Intentions so make sure you check back daily for new content ranging from the Lottery, Combine, Private Workouts, profiles, and more!