2012 NBA Draft Lottery Odds

Apr 26, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; A fan holds up a sign during the second half of the Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks game. The New York Knicks defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 104-84 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

Hope: It’s an incredibly powerful thing. This singular hope, the hope that their favorite team will be fortunate enough to land the next LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan is what drives the fans of perenially losing teams to the lottery. The NBA Draft Lottery — even though giving teams incentive to keep losing excessively rather than improving incrementally is inherently flawed — brings hope to 14 different fan bases.

Charlotte Bobcats fans know the sting of losing and, if everything goes according to the percentages, they will begin the arduous process of building a successful, long-lasting foundation around consensus No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis.

1. CharlotteLottery odds: 25.0%

2. WashingtonLottery odds: 19.9%

3. ClevelandLottery odds: 13.8%

4. New OrleansLottery odds: 13.7%

5. SacramentoLottery odds: 7.6%

6. BrooklynLottery odds: 7.5%

7. Golden StateLottery odds: 3.6%

8. TorontoLottery odds: 3.5%

9. DetroitLottery odds: 1.7%

10. New OrleansLottery odds: 1.1%

11. PortlandLottery odds: 0.8%

12. MilwaukeeLottery odds: 0.7%

13. PhoenixLottery odds: 0.6%

14. HoustonLottery odds: 0.5%