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NBA Draft Lottery: Which teams have won the draft lottery the most?

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The NBA adopted the lottery system to determine the order for the draft back in 1985. 

For the first few years, every non-playoff team had the same chances of landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, but the league changed things up in 1990 by introducing the weighted lottery system. 

Over the years, the chances and probabilities for each team landing the top pick have changed slightly, with the teams with the worse records getting higher weightage. 

MORE: The moment the draft changed forever - Knicks, Ewing and the 1985 Lottery

From 2019 onwards, the teams with the three worst records after the regular season have had an equal shot of 14.0% at the No. 1 pick.

Which NBA franchise has won the Draft Lottery most?

The LA Clippers have won the NBA Draft Lottery the most number of times with five (1986, 1988, 1998, 2009, 2011).

Two of those five times, LA's pick was conveyed to another team in a trade.

In 1986, Brad Daugherty was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the No. 1 overall pick. The pick was acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, who had received it earlier from the Clippers. In 2011, the Cavaliers acquired Baron Davis and a first-round pick from the Clippers in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. The pick turned out to be No. 1, and Cleveland picked Kyrie Irving.

After the Clippers, there are a host of teams that have won it three times - New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets (1990, 2000, 2017), Orlando Magic (1992, 1993, 2004) and Cavaliers (2003, 2013, 2014). 

NBA Draft Lottery winners
Year Team Odds
2020 Minnesota Timberwolves  14.00% (tied highest)
2019 New Orleans Pelicans  6.00% (tied 7th-highest)
2018 Phoenix Suns 25.0% (highest)
2017 Brooklyn Nets  25.0% (highest)
2016 Philadelphia 76ers  25.0% (highest)
2015 Minnesota Timberwolves 25.0% (highest)
2014 Cleveland Cavaliers  1.70% (9th-highest)
2013 Cleveland Cavaliers 15.60% (3rd-highest)
2012 New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans)  13.70% (4th-highest)
2011 LA Clippers  2.80% (8th-highest)
2010 Washington Wizards  10.30% (5th-highest)
2009 LA Clippers 17.70% (3rd-highest)
2008 Chicago Bulls  1.70% (9th-highest)
2007 Portland Trail Blazers 5.30% (6th-highest)
2006 Toronto Raptors 8.80% (5th-highest)
2005 Milwaukee Bucks  6.30% (6th-highest)
2004 Orlando Magic 25.0% (highest)
2003 Cleveland Cavaliers 22.5% (tied highest)
2002 Houston Rockets 8.90% (5th-highest)
2001 Washington Wizards 15.70% (3rd-highest)
2000 New Jersey Nets 4.40% (7th-highest)
1999 Chicago Bulls 15.70% (3rd-highest)
1998 LA Clippers 22.56% (2nd-highest)
1997 San Antonio Spurs  21.60% (2nd-highest)
1996 Philadelphia 76ers 33.73% (highest)
1995 Golden State Warriors 9.40% (5th-highest)
1994 Milwaukee Bucks 16.30% (4th-highest)
1993 Orlando Magic 1.52% (worst of 11)
1992 Orlando Magic 15.15% (2nd-highest)
1991 Charlotte Hornets 10.61% (5th-highest)
1990 New Jersey Nets 16.67% (highest)
1989 Sacramento Kings 11.11% (tied highest)
1988 LA Clippers 14.29% (tied highest)
1987 San Antonio Spurs 14.29% (tied highest)
1986 LA Clippers 14.29% (tied highest)
1985 New York Knicks 14.29% (tied highest)

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