Rockets Lottery Odds: Can Houston Grab No. 1 Pick?

The Houston Rockets will know where they are standing in the 2024 NBA Draft in less than a week.

Jeremy Brener | May 6, 2024

Dec 19, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; against the Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone smiles / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

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Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are less than a week away from learning where their lottery pick will be standing at the 2024 NBA Draft.

The Rockets hold the Brooklyn Nets' pick as a result of the James Harden trade back in 2021. Meanwhile, the Rockets' pick is conveyed to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the Russell Westbrook-Chris Paul swap in 2019.

Here's a look at the full odds for the No. 1 pick:

Detroit Pistons: 14.0%
Washington Wizards: 14.0%
Charlotte Hornets: 13.3%
Portland Trail Blazers: 13.2%
San Antonio Spurs: 10.5%
Toronto Raptors: 9.0%
Memphis Grizzlies: 7.5%
Utah Jazz: 6.0%
Houston Rockets: 4.5%
Atlanta Hawks: 3.0%
Chicago Bulls: 2.0%
Oklahoma City Thunder: 1.5%
Sacramento Kings: 0.8%
Golden State Warriors: 0.7%

The Rockets have a 20.3 percent chance of having a top four pick. If the Rockets moved into the top four, it would mark the fourth consecutive year in which Houston would have a pick that high. If the Rockets kept the pick, the rookie would join Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson among the team's top selections.

The Rockets have had the No. 1 overall pick five times during their franchise history, and they have a pretty good track record when holding the top selection. Elvin Hayes (1968), current assistant coach John Lucas (1976), Ralph Sampson (1983), Hakeem Olajuwon (1984) and Yao Ming (2002) are the players the team took with the No. 1 pick. All but Lucas are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Published May 6, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.