San Antonio Spurs lose coin toss tiebreaker with Houston Rockets ahead of 2023 NBA Draft Lottery
Spurs still have 14% odds of landing No. 1 overall pick, will not pick lower than No. 7 overall
Andrew Cely, Sports Producer/Reporter
The San Antonio Spurs finished the 2023 season tied with the Houston Rockets for the second worst record in the NBA at 22-60. That necessitated a tiebreaker scenario, since the order affects this year’s NBA Draft Lottery probabilities. Ultimately, it came down to a coin flip on Monday afternoon.
The Spurs lost.
As a result, San Antonio is considered to have the third-worst record in the NBA, and they will pick no lower than No. 7 overall. The Rockets are considered to have the second-worst record and will pick no lower than No. 6 overall. This does not affect the Spurs’ probability of landing the No. 1 overall pick. Here is a breakdown of the draft pick probabilities for Detroit, Houston and San Antonio:
Draft Pick
San Antonio
Houston
Detroit
No. 1
14%
14%
14%
No. 2
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
No. 3
12.7%
12.7%
12.7%
No. 4
12%
12%
12%
No. 5
14.8%
27.8%
47.9%
No. 6
26%
20%
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No. 7
7%
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The stakes in this year’s draft are high with 7-foot-2 French superstar Victor Wembanyama projected as the consensus No. 1 overall pick. The last time San Antonio won the draft lottery was in 1997, and they used the No. 1 overall pick to select franchise legend Tim Duncan.
The NBA Draft Lottery is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. The 2023 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, June 22 at the Barclays Center.