With Miami advancing to the 2023 NBA playoffs, Houston’s incoming draft pick from the Los Angeles Clippers (via the Eric Gordon trade from February) could be as high as No. 18 overall in the first-round order. Coin flips are expected to occur Monday.
While the Heat, Clippers, and Golden State Warriors all finished with matching 44-38 records, the tiebreaker would have only involved the Clippers and Warriors had Miami missed the playoffs — with No. 19 as the best-case scenario. Now, with Miami also in the mix, it’s a three-way tie and a possibility of No. 18 overall.
The more important tiebreaker, of course, will be between the Rockets and Spurs — who both finished at 22-60. While both teams will have identical odds of securing one of the four lottery picks at the top of the first round, the coin-flip winner cannot fall below No. 6 overall and would have superior odds for the No. 5 spot, as well.
As with the Miami tiebreaker, the Houston-San Antonio coin flip is also expected to occur on Monday. The league office conducts all of its tiebreakers on the same day, and some required waiting until after the 2023 play-in tournament to determine what teams would be in each tie (since non-playoff teams automatically jump playoff teams in the draft order, regardless of record).
Now, with the 2023 NBA playoffs field set, the league can proceed with tiebreakers on its next business day. After Monday’s coin flips, the next important calendar date pertaining to the first-round order is the 2023 NBA draft lottery, which takes place on Tuesday, May 16.
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