Raptors hold 9% chance at No. 1 pick in 2024 NBA Draft

The Toronto Raptors might have three games left in the 2024 NBA regular season, but all eyes are looking a month down the road.

With the Raptors currently possessing a 25-54 record this year and having undergone a serious rebuild that included executing four midseason trades, any talk of making the postseason is far in the rearview mirror.

But while there might not be much excitement about the team’s immediate future, there’s bound to be plenty of eyeballs on May 12, which could be a pivotal night for the franchise.

That’s the date of the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery, and Toronto may have a shot at selecting one of the top young players in the world.

According to the latest projections from Tankathon, the Raptors hold a 9.0% chance of winning the top overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and a 27.4% shot at landing a top-three selection.

Detroit, Washington, and Charlotte each hold a 14.0% chance at the first overall pick, while San Antonio has a 12.5% shot, and the Portland Trail Blazers have a 10.5% chance to round out the top five.

Toronto’s pick is set to go to San Antonio this year as part of the Jakob Poeltl trade executed in February 2023, but it is top-six protected, meaning it’s contingent on the upcoming draft lottery results.

If Toronto lands in the top six slots in the draft lottery, they’ll have the right to make their selection this year, but if it lands seventh or further, they’ll send the pick to the Spurs.

Toronto also holds a first-round pick acquired from the Indiana Pacers in a trade for Pascal Siakam and the Detroit Pistons’ second-round pick, which has exchanged hands multiple times.

While the draft might not hold a clearcut number one selection as it did last year when San Antonio landed Victor Wembanyama, there’s still a host of interesting players at the top of the draft.

Alexandre Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher, Reed Sheppard, Nikola Topić, and Rob Dillingham are among the prospects whose names have been floated at the top of draft boards.

As the standings currently shake out, Toronto has a 45.6 % chance of keeping the pick and, conversely, a 54.4% chance of transferring it to the Spurs.

For now, it’s just a matter of waiting out the calendar to see how exactly Toronto’s selections shake out.

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