As the Knicks stumbled through a 17-65 season, tied for the worst record in franchise history and the worst record in the NBA this season, at least the light at the end of the tunnel was the NBA draft lottery.
But when Tuesday's lottery is held at 8:30 p.m. ET at the Hilton Chicago, the Knicks' best odds are to land the fifth pick, thanks to a revamped lottery system that tries to dissuade teams from tanking in an attempt to secure a slot at the top of the draft.
The Knicks have a 14 percent chance of landing the top pick, which almost certainly will be Duke's Zion Williamson. That's the same odds as the second- and third-worst teams, the Cavaliers and Suns, thanks to the new system approved in 2017 by the league's Board of Governors. This, the first year the new system will be implemented, is swapped for a system that would have given the worst team a 25-percent chance at the No. 1 pick.
