{"id":714713,"date":"2026-04-20T18:08:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/714713\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T18:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:08:03","slug":"nba-draft-tiebreaker-rules-why-coin-flip-determines-whether-knicks-lakers-more-get-higher-draft-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/714713\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Draft tiebreaker rules: Why coin flip determines whether Knicks, Lakers, more get higher draft pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

NBA Draft tiebreaker rules: Why coin flip determines whether Knicks, Lakers, more get higher draft pick<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ties are a wretched word in sports. Three of the four major U.S.-based leagues reject the result’s existence outright, while the fourth — the NFL — only permits its emergence after space and time itself has been exhausted (but only in regular-season games).<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

And yet, ties are an inevitable part of the sporting calendar. In the NBA, every team plays 82 games. There are bound to be some teams whose entire campaign comprises of ties.<\/p>\n

To make things sharper: every year,\u00a0spectators are presented with two teams that finish the year with matching records. The draft order is the easiest way to see that carnage unfold. In 2025, the Suns<\/a> and Trail Blazers<\/a> posted identical 36-46 records. Yet, when the draft was read out, Phoenix — whose pick initially belonged to the Rockets<\/a> due to a prior trade — held a better draft position than Portland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That ordering was decided by tiebreakers, a proverbial “coin flip” that sees team’s standing in the draft order decided far from glistening hardwood.<\/p>\n

With that, here’s what you need to know about the set of tiebreakers set to be decided ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

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NBA PLAYOFFS HQ:Live NBA scores<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NBA playoff schedule<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NBA playoff bracket<\/a><\/p>\n

NBA Draft tiebreakers, explained<\/p>\n

Six sets of team finished the regular season with identical records. While tiebreaker scenarios exist to dictate how the playoff bracket shakes out, the draft order takes on a different approach. The NBA teams up with Ernst & Young, one of the world’s largest consultancy firms.<\/p>\n

As insider Marc Stein notes<\/a>, the “coin flip” is actually a random drawing. Sides with identical records see their ties broken by the process of random drawings.<\/p>\n

In 2025, five ties were separated via the system. No tie proved more consequential than the one between the Mavericks<\/a> and the Bulls<\/a>, both of whom finished with 39-43 records. Dallas<\/a> won the random drawing, taking ownership of the 10th-best odds to land the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. Chicago<\/a>, meanwhile, sulked to 11th-best odds.<\/p>\n

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The Mavericks<\/a> ended up winning the lottery, setting the stage for the franchise to select teenage phenom Cooper Flagg<\/a>. The Bulls, meanwhile, fell to No. 12, selecting French forward Noa Essengue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the ties set to be decided in Secaucus, New Jersey on Monday afternoon:<\/p>\n

Atlanta Hawks, via Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> (52-30) vs. Philadelphia 76ers, via Houston Rockets (52-30)<\/p>\n

NBA Draft order<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the first round draft order based solely on regular-season record:<\/p>\n

Round<\/p>\n

Pick<\/p>\n

Overall<\/p>\n

Team<\/p>\n

Record<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Washington Wizards<\/a><\/p>\n

17-65<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Indiana Pacers<\/a><\/p>\n

19-63<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Nets<\/a><\/p>\n

20-62<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Utah Jazz<\/p>\n

22-60<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Sacramento Kings<\/p>\n

22-60<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Memphis Grizzlies<\/p>\n

25-57<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Atlanta Hawks (from New Orleans<\/a>)<\/p>\n

26-56<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n

26-56<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

Chicago Bulls<\/p>\n

31-51<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

Milwaukee Bucks<\/a><\/p>\n

32-50<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

11<\/p>\n

11<\/p>\n

Golden State Warriors<\/a><\/p>\n

37-45<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

12<\/p>\n

12<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City Thunder (from Los Angeles<\/a>)<\/p>\n

42-40<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

Miami Heat<\/a><\/p>\n

43-39<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n

44-38<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

Chicago Bulls (from Portland)<\/p>\n

42-40<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

16<\/p>\n

16<\/p>\n

Memphis Grizzlies (from Orlando)<\/p>\n

45-37<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

17<\/p>\n

17<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets (from Phoenix)<\/p>\n

45-37<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

18<\/p>\n

18<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City Thunder (from Philadelphia<\/a>)<\/p>\n

45-37<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

19<\/p>\n

19<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta)<\/p>\n

46-36<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

20<\/p>\n

20<\/p>\n

Toronto Raptors<\/p>\n

46-36<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

21<\/p>\n

21<\/p>\n

Detroit Pistons<\/a> (from Minnesota<\/a>)<\/p>\n

49-33<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

22<\/p>\n

22<\/p>\n

Atlanta Hawks (from Cleveland)<\/p>\n

52-30<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

23<\/p>\n

23<\/p>\n

Philadelphia 76ers (from Houston)<\/p>\n

52-30<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

24<\/p>\n

24<\/p>\n

New York Knicks<\/p>\n

53-29<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

25<\/p>\n

25<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Lakers<\/p>\n

53-29<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

26<\/p>\n

26<\/p>\n

Denver Nuggets<\/a><\/p>\n

54-28<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

27<\/p>\n

27<\/p>\n

Boston Celtics<\/a><\/p>\n

56-26<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

28<\/p>\n

28<\/p>\n

Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> (from Detroit)<\/p>\n

60-22<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

29<\/p>\n

29<\/p>\n

Cleveland Cavaliers (from San Antonio<\/a>)<\/p>\n

62-20<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

30<\/p>\n

30<\/p>\n

Dallas Mavericks (from Oklahoma City<\/a>)<\/p>\n

64-18<\/p>\n

H3: NBA Draft Lottery odds<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the odds of landing the No. 1 pick for each of the 14 sides slated to take part in next month’s draft lottery.<\/p>\n

No. 1 Pick Odds<\/p>\n

Team<\/p>\n

Record<\/p>\n

14.0%<\/p>\n

Wizards<\/p>\n

17-65<\/p>\n

14.0%<\/p>\n

Pacers<\/p>\n

19-63<\/p>\n

14.0%<\/p>\n

Nets<\/p>\n

20-62<\/p>\n

11.5%<\/p>\n

Jazz<\/p>\n

22-60<\/p>\n

11.5%<\/p>\n

Kings<\/p>\n

22-60<\/p>\n

9.0%<\/p>\n

Grizzlies<\/p>\n

25-57<\/p>\n

6.8%<\/p>\n

Hawks (via Pelicans)<\/p>\n

26-56<\/p>\n

6.7%<\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

26-56<\/p>\n

4.5%<\/p>\n

Bulls<\/p>\n

31-51<\/p>\n

3.0%<\/p>\n

Bucks<\/p>\n

32-50<\/p>\n

2.0%<\/p>\n

Warriors<\/p>\n

37-45<\/p>\n

1.5%<\/p>\n

Thunder (via Clippers<\/a>)<\/p>\n

42-40<\/p>\n

1.0%<\/p>\n

Heat<\/p>\n

43-39<\/p>\n

0.5%<\/p>\n

Hornets<\/p>\n

44-38<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NBA Draft tiebreaker rules: Why coin flip determines whether Knicks, Lakers, more get higher draft pick originally appeared…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3793],"tags":[208,7,75,247,920,473,919,193,559,225,686,149,4057,187,188,164,126,251,150,166,177,189,121,307,152,6,249,11,478,470,191,2282,475,179,76,678,207,687,211,477,969,474,604,476,1617,427,468],"class_list":{"0":"post-714713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-mavericks","8":"tag-atlanta-hawks","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-brooklyn-nets","12":"tag-bulls","13":"tag-charlotte-hornets","14":"tag-chicago","15":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","16":"tag-clippers","17":"tag-cooper-flagg","18":"tag-dallas","19":"tag-dallas-mavericks","20":"tag-dallasmavericks","21":"tag-denver-nuggets","22":"tag-detroit-pistons","23":"tag-golden-state-warriors","24":"tag-indiana-pacers","25":"tag-los-angeles","26":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","27":"tag-mavericks","28":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","29":"tag-miami-heat","30":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","31":"tag-minnesota","32":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","33":"tag-nba","34":"tag-nba-draft-lottery","35":"tag-nba-playoffs","36":"tag-new-orleans","37":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","38":"tag-new-york-knicks","39":"tag-noa-essengue","40":"tag-oklahoma-city","41":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","42":"tag-orlando-magic","43":"tag-philadelphia","44":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","45":"tag-portland","46":"tag-rockets","47":"tag-sacramento-kings","48":"tag-san-antonio","49":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","50":"tag-suns","51":"tag-toronto-raptors","52":"tag-trail-blazers","53":"tag-utah-jazz","54":"tag-washington-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}