With Sunday’s season-ending home loss to Atlanta, the Rockets clinched the best odds slot entering the 2022 NBA draft lottery. It is the second straight year that Houston finished with the league’s worst record, and it helped lead them to the No. 2 overall pick (Jalen Green) in 2021.
Though Orlando does not play until later in the day, they can no longer match the Rockets, regardless of the result. They already have 21 wins, and Houston (20-62) has completed all of its regular-season games.
Technically, NBA teams with the worst, second-worst, and third-worst records all have the same probability odds when it comes to landing one of the top-four picks — which will be drawn at the May 17 draft lottery.
