The NBA Draft Lottery isn’t wildly popular because fans enjoy exercises in statistical probability. The math is just a means to an end, and the real driver of interest is the potential for absolute pandemonium that arrives on May 10.
Nobody knows how the ping pong balls will bounce, and we’ve seen some truly stunning outcomes in recent seasons. The last two lottery winners had only 1.8 and 3.0 percent chances, respectively, to pick first. At this point, a chalk result where the four worst teams actually select in “proper” order seems almost impossible.
It’s not, of course. That’s the whole idea: Anything is possible.
Let’s suss out the lottery results that would generate the most havoc, create the wildest potential trade scenarios and otherwise upend the offseason.