NBA Draft Lottery: Which teams have won the draft lottery the most?

Yash Matange

NBA Draft Lottery: Which teams have won the draft lottery the most? image

The NBA adopted the lottery system to determine the order for the draft back in 1985. 

For the first few years, every non-playoff team had the same chances of landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, but the league changed things up in 1990 by introducing the weighted lottery system. 

Over the years, the chances and probabilities for each team landing the top pick have changed slightly, with the teams with the worse records getting higher weightage. 

MORE: The moment the draft changed forever - Knicks, Ewing and the 1985 Lottery

From 2019 onwards, the teams with the three worst records after the regular season have had an equal shot of 14.0% at the No. 1 pick.

Which NBA franchise has won the Draft Lottery most?

The LA Clippers have won the NBA Draft Lottery the most number of times with five (1986, 1988, 1998, 2009, 2011).

Two of those five times, LA's pick was conveyed to another team in a trade.

In 1986, Brad Daugherty was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the No. 1 overall pick. The pick was acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, who had received it earlier from the Clippers. In 2011, the Cavaliers acquired Baron Davis and a first-round pick from the Clippers in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. The pick turned out to be No. 1, and Cleveland picked Kyrie Irving.

After the Clippers, there are a host of teams that have won it three times - New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets (1990, 2000, 2017), Orlando Magic (1992, 1993, 2004) and Cavaliers (2003, 2013, 2014). 

NBA Draft Lottery winners
YearTeamOdds
2020Minnesota Timberwolves 14.00% (tied highest)
2019New Orleans Pelicans 6.00% (tied 7th-highest)
2018Phoenix Suns25.0% (highest)
2017Brooklyn Nets 25.0% (highest)
2016Philadelphia 76ers 25.0% (highest)
2015Minnesota Timberwolves25.0% (highest)
2014Cleveland Cavaliers 1.70% (9th-highest)
2013Cleveland Cavaliers15.60% (3rd-highest)
2012New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) 13.70% (4th-highest)
2011LA Clippers 2.80% (8th-highest)
2010Washington Wizards 10.30% (5th-highest)
2009LA Clippers17.70% (3rd-highest)
2008Chicago Bulls 1.70% (9th-highest)
2007Portland Trail Blazers5.30% (6th-highest)
2006Toronto Raptors8.80% (5th-highest)
2005Milwaukee Bucks 6.30% (6th-highest)
2004Orlando Magic25.0% (highest)
2003Cleveland Cavaliers22.5% (tied highest)
2002Houston Rockets8.90% (5th-highest)
2001Washington Wizards15.70% (3rd-highest)
2000New Jersey Nets4.40% (7th-highest)
1999Chicago Bulls15.70% (3rd-highest)
1998LA Clippers22.56% (2nd-highest)
1997San Antonio Spurs 21.60% (2nd-highest)
1996Philadelphia 76ers33.73% (highest)
1995Golden State Warriors9.40% (5th-highest)
1994Milwaukee Bucks16.30% (4th-highest)
1993Orlando Magic1.52% (worst of 11)
1992Orlando Magic15.15% (2nd-highest)
1991Charlotte Hornets10.61% (5th-highest)
1990New Jersey Nets16.67% (highest)
1989Sacramento Kings11.11% (tied highest)
1988LA Clippers14.29% (tied highest)
1987San Antonio Spurs14.29% (tied highest)
1986LA Clippers14.29% (tied highest)
1985New York Knicks14.29% (tied highest)

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.

Yash Matange