The 2023 NBA Draft order is officially set. The Portland Trail Blazers will select third overall, barring a trade. Here’s how the top five picks played out:
- San Antonio Spurs
- Charlotte Hornets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Houston Rockets
- Detroit Pistons
The Trail Blazers have always had the same dilemma: to trade Damian Lillard and rebuild or to trade their first-round pick and contend. It becomes even more real as Portland has officially landed the No. 3 pick.
There will be plenty of buzz regarding what the Blazers should do with their pick between now and the NBA Draft on June 22, 2023. This article explains why many Blazers fans have mixed feelings about the franchise’s direction and landing the third overall pick, highlighting three positives and two negatives about the lottery outcome.
Positive No. 1: Better than Blazers’ expected odds
The Blazers had a 10.6 percent chance of landing the third overall pick, according to Tankathon. But interestingly enough, although Portland had the fifth-best lottery odds, it only had a 2.2 percent chance of landing the fifth pick.
The Blazers had a 31.6 percent chance of their outcome of becoming a top-three pick. Although the Blazers missed out on the “Wembanyama Sweepstakes” and the No. 1 overall pick, the fact that they finished better than their expected outcome is still a reason for fans to be excited.
Brandon Roy did well representing the Blazers at the draft lottery.