NBA Draft Lottery Odds, Now In Pretty Pie Chart Format
The Draft Lottery is Tuesday and I'm sure everybody is so excited, but they might not have the clearest idea of what odds their team has to get the John Wall/Evan Turner of the draft.
No worries because Golden State of Mind is here to save the day.
Sleepy Freud put this self-explanatory pie chart together depicting each team's 2010 NBA Draft Lottery odds.
Here's a brief explanation from the fan post, but I encourage you go over and read the whole interesting story while giving him a pat on the back (and the input he's looking for):
Personally, I think looking at the odds in this form allows a depth, breadth, and speed of understanding that a simple spreadsheet doesn't. I think that the spatial comparison of odds reads more clearly than a numerical one; that the hot-to-cool color range gives a quick-and-dirty sense of "good pick" v. "bad pick;" and that the pie chart shows clearly that each team's odds at picking in various slots, must, by definition, total one (which seems obvious enough, but some GSoM old-timers may remember some rather heated debates on the subject). Anyway, I'm curious to hear what others think. Are the pies any clearer than the spreadsheet? Less clear? Funner and more colorful, but not really any different?
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Absolutely an improvement
More and more, we’re a visual society, and in many cases that is not a alarming trend. This pie graph is a quicker way to understand the situation. It shows that Utah through Houston do not have a chance at anything besides the top three and 8-14. It also gives a great side by side comparison of likelihoods per team.
Based off-of this chart, I would feel like the following order has a good chance of happening:
1: Wash
2: Minn
3: Sac
4: NJ
5: GSW
6: Phi
7: Det
8-14 as listed
I am basing this off the fact that almost every year, one team moves up into the top three. Also, the five spot has some of the most well-rounded odds (no overwhelming probability of getting a particular selection). I followed the same reasoning for all the other picks. let’s see how well the reasoning works this year.
Paxson: "Oh Vinny, your double-windsor is crooked again. Let me just rip off your neck for you."
by Another Afflicted Chicago Fan on May 15, 2025 3:45 PM EDT reply actions
Nice graph.
Tufte would approve.
"Each in turn... volunteered his suggestions, his invaluable suggestions."
by Xiane on May 17, 2025 2:29 AM EDT reply actions
I like the visual appeal of the circle chart, but I think a bar chart could work well, too - it would show everyone’s overall odds are 1, but show the relative height of each, allowing for more comparison between different teams. It’s hard to tell with the current chart whether Utah actually has better odds than the Clippers, for example.
Honor is no substitute for victory.
by The Dark on May 17, 2025 8:41 AM EDT reply actions
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