The Milwaukee Bucks Varied Paths To The First Overall Pick In The 2016 NBA Draft

The Next Best Thing – Milwaukee Edges Minnesota Right Before The Finish Line

This is actually an entirely possible scenario. As Zach Lowe noted in his latest piece, the Timberwolves have actually been good lately. Suckers.

Minnesota is currently 25-49, five games ahead of the Bucks in lottery standings. If they can beat the Mavericks, Kings, Rockets, Pelicans, and Clippers (all home games except for the Kings, who are awful) they’ll end at 30-52.

If they manage to win any of their games besides that, they could do even better. It’s not likely, but it’s possible that Minnesota could overwhelm the Jazz or Trail Blazers, or even the history-chasing Warriors.

All they need to do is win those five realistic games though, for the Bucks to catch them in the standings. From there, the coin flip comes into play again. If Milwaukee wins it and takes sole possession of the fifth lotto spot, they’d have a 29.1 percent shot at a top three pick and an 8.8 percent chance at the first overall pick.

For a scenario that is actually conceivable, this is juicy. A nearly three-in-ten chance at the top three and a nearly-nine percent shot at the top pick isn’t great odds, but they’re still things that actually happen (but probably won’t). Hey, those are better odds than the chances of Milwaukee actually moving this high in the lottery!

Next: The Really Possible Ones