The Dallas Mavericks will pick fifth in next month's NBA Draft, their highest draft pick in 24 years.
The draft order was finalized Tuesday night in the oft-criticized NBA draft lottery in Chicago.
Dallas entered the lottery with a 13.8 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick and a 42.6 percent chance of being in the top three.
• What's the lottery? Here's how it works
The Mavs finished the 2017-18 season with the third-worst record in the NBA, in a year when owner Mark Cuban was fined for comments about the team "tanking," or intentionally losing games to improve their draft position. They won a coin flip tiebreaker with the Atlanta Hawks to get sole possession of the third-best odds.
Assuming they elect to stay put at No. 5, it will be the Mavericks' highest draft pick since 1994, when they took Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd.
Dallas had the No. 1 overall pick in the 1981 draft, which they used on Mark Aguirre. The franchise has picked at No. 4 four different times: 1982, 1984, 1992 and 1993.
The Mavs will have a chance to land a highly-touted player. The players widely thought to be the top prospects in the draft are Arizona center DeAndre Ayton, 19-year-old Slovenian point guard Luka Doncic and Duke forward Marvin Bagley III. Michigan State's Jaren Jackson Jr. or Texas' Mohamed Bamba could also address Dallas' need for a big man.
Whoever the Mavs pick will be coupled with Dennis Smith, Jr. – the ninth pick in last year's draft – as the faces of the team's next generation with all-time great Dirk Nowitzki in the twilight of his illustrious career.
Here's how the top 10 picks will play out:
1. Phoenix Suns
2. Sacramento Kings
3. Atlanta Hawks
4. Memphis Grizzlies
5. Dallas Mavericks
6. Orlando Magic
7. Chicago Bulls
8. Cleveland Cavaliers
9. New York Knicks
10. Philadelphia 76ers
