The Cleveland Cavaliers tonight received the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft presented by State Farm as a result of the NBA Draft Lottery 2020, which was conducted virtually and aired live on ESPN. The 2020 NBA Draft will be held on Friday, October 16.
“We are excited about the depth of this year’s draft class,” said Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman. “We are confident that this draft position will allow us to acquire talent that will complement our core mix of young players and established veterans. We look forward to welcoming someone who embodies everything we are building here in Cleveland from a culture, work ethic and commitment to development standpoint, both on and off the floor. We will also continue to explore opportunities that could be impactful for our team both now and in the future as we build toward sustainable success.”
The Cavaliers’ 2020 lottery pick will mark the 21st pick the Cavs have owned all-time and their second time selecting fifth overall since the current lottery format was introduced in 1985. Cleveland held the fifth pick in last year’s draft and selected Darius Garland, who was the only NBA rookie in 2019-20 with at least 700 points, 225 assists and 100 three-pointers. Garland also ranked second among all rookies in assists per game (3.9), behind only Memphis guard Ja Morant. His 105 made three-pointers were the second-most by a rookie in franchise history behind Collin Sexton (2018-19, 119), and he reached double figures in scoring 43 times. Garland also ranked in the Top 10 among all NBA rookies in minutes per game (third), three-pointers made (sixth), three-point percentage (sixth) and points per game (eighth).
Cleveland finished the 2019-20 season in the second-place position entering the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery, with the following odds: 14.0% chance of No. 1, 13.4% of No. 2, 12.7% of No. 3, 12.0% of No. 4, 27.8% of No. 5 and 20.0% of No. 6. Cleveland was represented in the lottery by Cavaliers Legend and five-time NBA All-Star Brad Daugherty, who was selected by the Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft and played his entire eight-year career with Cleveland.
Under the NBA Draft Lottery system, the odds at the top of the lottery were leveled so that the three teams with the lowest regular-season winning percentages (Golden State, Cleveland and Minnesota) each had a 14 percent chance of receiving the No. 1 overall pick and a 52 percent chance of remaining in the top four. Drawings were held at tonight’s Draft Lottery to determine the first four picks in the 2020 NBA Draft presented by State Farm, with the remaining lottery teams set to select in positions five through 14 in inverse order of their 2019-20 regular season records. The full results of tonight’s Draft Lottery are as follows:
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Charlotte Hornets
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Detroit Pistons
8. New York Knicks
9. Washington Wizards
10. Phoenix Suns
11. San Antonio Spurs
12. Sacramento Kings
13. New Orleans Pelicans
14. Boston Celtics