Washington's 14-39 record positions them squarely in the "tank race," eyeing a top pick. Can they maintain their stride post-All-Star break?
NBA All-Star weekend is coming to a close, meaning that NBA regular season basketball is set to start up again on Thursday, February 19.
The contending teams are set in stone, with the play-in seeds still being toss ups.
On the other hand, you have a handful of blatantly tanking teams who are purposely trying to lose to get a more favorable draft pick.
To nobody's surprise, there are about six teams who are obviously trying to lose games, with the hopes of getting lucky enough to land in the top three where the team can select one of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer.
As NBA basketball is set to start in the next coming days, let's take a peak at where the Washington Wizards stand in the "tank race".
Washington Wizards Center Alex Sarr (20) | © Rafael Suanes-Imagn ImagesBefore we dive into teams' records, let's break down how the lottery odds work.
There are 14 teams eligible for the NBA draft lottery, with the bottom three teams each receiving a 14.0% chance of the number one pick. The fourth worst team has a 12.5% chance, fifth worst 10.5%, sixth worst 9.0%, seventh worst 7.5%, so on and so forth.
53 games through the regular season, Washington has a 14-39 record, good for the second worst record in the NBA, and 14.0% chance of receiving the the number one overall pick.
Washington is only behind the Sacramento Kings, who have a 12-44 record.
A few of the other tanking teams better than Washington are the New Orleans Pelicans (15-41), Indiana Pacers (15-40), Brooklyn Nets (15-38), and the Utah Jazz (18-38).
New Orleans starts off their post All-Star break taking on the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Golden State Warriors, prior to their back-to-back meetings with the Utah Jazz; good news for Washington as there has to be a winner lose draft position between New Orleans and Utah.
Indiana, on the other hand, is set to take on our very own Washington Wizards on a back-to-back to start the second half. If Washington drops both games to Indiana, it will firmly put them multiple games behind Indiana, giving them much needed comfort in the tank race.
Brooklyn's first six games coming out the break are all tough opponents in the Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics. Do not be surprised if Brooklyn finds a way to lose each of these games.
And lastly, Utah will take on the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets, prior to that back-to-back with New Orleans.
Washington could be sitting pretty upon the tank race, especially if the other lottery teams beat each other up, with Washington firmly remaining as a bottom two team in the league.
Washington will be back in action on February 19, where they'll host Indiana at 7:00 PM ET.