The first big day of the Atlanta Hawks offseason will be this Sunday when the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery takes place. It has been a quite month for the Hawks since their season ended in Chicago in the NBA’s play-in tournament, but they will officially know their draft position after 3:00 on Sunday.

This is not quite the most anticipated draft lottery in recent memory, but if the Hawks can find a way to move up in the lottery, the pick would become a more valuable trade asset if they wish to trade the pick or they could use it to select a player (Alex Sarr?). Despite this being a down year in terms of elite top talent in the draft, it would be huge if the Hawks could move up.

Coming into Sunday, Atlanta’s pre-draft position is 10th. They have a 13.9% chance to land a top-four pick and a 3% chance to land the No. 1 pick. If the lottery were to stay as projected, Atlanta would pick 10th. They can pick as low as 12th or as high as 1st.

For the Atlanta Hawks, they are going to be in the NBA Draft Lottery for the first time since the 2020 NBA Draft, where they picked Onyeka Okongwu at No. 6 overall. The Hawks have never won the NBA Draft Lottery and have only picked in the top four of the draft four times (2018, 2007, 2005, 2001). The only two drafts in which they have moved up more than one projected lottery spot were in 2001 and 1985. The NBA Draft lottery has not always been kind to the Atlanta Hawks, but they are hoping they can move into the top four of this draft, even if this is not considered to be a strong draft.

Here are the teams involved in this year’s NBA Draft Lottery, along with their odds of getting the No. 1 overall pick:

Here is how the NBA Draft Lottery works, courtesy of NBA.com:

“The 39th annual NBA Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2024 NBA Draft. Drawings will be conducted to determine the first four picks in the NBA Draft. The remainder of the “lottery teams” will select in positions five through 14 in inverse order of their 2023-24 regular-season records.

The actual lottery procedure will take place in a separate room just before ESPN’s national broadcast. Select media, NBA officials and representatives of the participating teams and the accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance for the drawings.

Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams. The lottery machine is manufactured by the Smart Play Company, a leading manufacturer of state lottery machines throughout the United States. Smart Play also weighs, measures and certifies the ping-pong balls before the drawing.

The drawing process occurs in the following manner: All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.

If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is selected. Also, if the one unassigned combination is drawn, the result is discarded and the balls are drawn again. The length of time the balls are mixed is monitored by a timekeeper who faces away from the machine and signals the machine operator after the appropriate amount of time has elapsed.

A representative from Ernst & Young oversees the entire lottery process and stuffs and seals the envelopes before bringing them to the studio for the broadcast. The announcement of the lottery results will be made by NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. A second representative from each participating team will be seated on stage. Neither the Deputy Commissioner nor the team representatives on stage will be informed of the lottery results before the envelopes are opened. The team whose logo is in the last envelope opened will have the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, which will be held on June 26-27, 2024.”

Associated Press

DC United (3-3-5, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Atlanta United FC (3-4-3, 10th in the Eastern Conference)

Atlanta; Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Atlanta United FC -140, DC United +313, Draw +313; over/under is 3.5 goals

BOTTOM LINE: D.C. United visits Atlanta United in Eastern Conference play.

Atlanta is 3-3-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. Atlanta has a +3 goal differential, scoring 14 goals while allowing 11.

D.C. United is 2-3-3 in conference games. D.C. United has a -1 goal differential, scoring 16 goals while allowing 17.

Saturday’s game is the first meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Giorgos Giakoumakis has scored five goals for Atlanta. Jamal Thiare has three goals over the last 10 games.

Christian Benteke has eight goals and two assists for D.C. United. Jacob Murrell has one goal over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Atlanta: 3-4-3, averaging 1.4 goals, 5.4 shots on goal and 6.2 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.1 goals per game.

D.C. United: 2-3-5, averaging 1.3 goals, 4.9 shots on goal and 5.6 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.6 goals per game.

NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: Atlanta: Alexandre Silva (injured), Jamal Thiare (injured), Derrick Williams (injured).

D.C. United: William Conner Antley (injured), Russell Canouse (injured).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever closed out their preseason with a victory, 83-80, over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night.

Indiana will now turn its attention to the start of the regular season on May 14 at Connecticut.

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Here are three observations:

Caitlin Clark nears a triple-double

The Fever rookie sensation showed just why she gets all the hype in her second WNBA preseason game.

She struggled with her shooting in the first quarter, going 2-for-6 from the field and 0-for-3 from the 3-point range. But Clark found other ways to contribute, racking up four assists in the first nine minutes.

She facilitated for her teammates throughout the game, and she is already coming near something she specialized in during her college career: a triple-double. She recorded 17 triple-doubles in her four-years at Iowa, which is second in Division I women’s basketball history behind Sabrina Ionescu’s 26.

It wouldn’t have counted in the WNBA’s official stat book, anyway, but Clark finished the game with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Katie Lou Samuelson shakes off rust

Before Friday night, the last time Fever forward Katie Lou Samuelson played in a WNBA game was 2022. While signed to the Los Angeles Sparks, the 26-year-old did not play in the 2023 WNBA season because she had a baby girl in August.

After signing with the Fever this past offseason, Samuelson was primed to make her debut last Friday against Dallas, but a late ankle injury during pregame warmups kept her out.

Tonight, she finally made that anticipated debut.

She had to shake off some rust in the first half, as she only scored one point off of a free-throw shot. The anticipated Fever starter settled in during the third quarter, though, sinking two 3-pointers and a layup off of her own steal. She ended with 11 points, three rebounds and two steals.

Young guard trio turns around second quarter

When second-year guard Grace Berger checked into the game three minutes into the second quarter, the Fever were down by 15 points. Berger’s inclusion was in addition to a duo of rookie guards in Caitlin Clark and Celeste Taylor, as well as second-year Aliyah Boston and third-year NaLyssa Smith.

They were going up against a seasoned, veteran Dream lineup that included Aerial Powers and Tina Charles. Still, it didn’t faze them.

Berger had four assists in the first four minutes she was on the court, and finished the half with four points, five assists and three rebounds in seven minutes. Clark, who started the game, had eight points and five assists by halftime. Taylor put up six points, including a putback at the buzzer to erase that 15-point deficit to one.

All in all, that trio spurred the Fever on a 22-8 run over the final seven minutes of the half, putting Indiana back in contention for the game. While Clark is all but guaranteed to make the team, as well, it was a strong showing for Berger and Taylor in the final days of training camp.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score?

Clark scored 12 points in her second preseason WNBA game. While it was lower than her preseason-opener of 21 against the Dallas Wings, Clark had a more balanced game against the Dream with eight rebounds and six assists.