The Denver Nuggets haven’t exactly had bad luck in the NBA Draft Lottery (unlike their Pepsi Center roommates), but they’ve never had good luck, either. Shooting guard Gary Harris will try and change that on Tuesday night.
Harris, the 19th selection overall in the 2014 draft, was selected to represent the Nuggets in this year’s draft lottery selection. Harris came to the Nuggets on a draft-night trade with the Chicago Bulls and has compiled three solid years in Denver since that time.
In 188 games (138 starts), Harris has averaged 26.3 minutes, 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He posted a career high in points per game with 14.5 and shot .420 from 3-point range in 2016-17. The Nuggets are hoping he’ll improve their odds in this year’s lottery, as well.
Denver enters the lottery with the No. 13 selection and a 0.60% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick. At no point in draft lottery history has the No. 13 pick slid up to No. 1 overall, although it has landed as high as No. 3 (1999). Of the 1,000 number combinations used to determine the lottery winner, Denver will have just six total chances to move up into the top three picks. (Compared to the 250 chances Boston (via Brooklyn) will have.)
Historically, Denver has never moved up as a result of the lottery. They did get to move up two spots last year after swapping picks with the Knicks (a final byproduct of the Carmelo Anthony trade), but the proverbial ping pong balls have never bounced their way.
Here’s a quick look at how the Nuggets have fared in the draft lottery over the years:
The 2017 NBA Draft will be held on June 22 at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York.
