The ping-pong magic happens before the broadcast. Each team is assigned various four-number combinations that will determine its pick. Then, 14 ping-pong balls — each numbered one through 14 — are placed into a ball-jumbling lottery machine.
Representatives from the NBA, the teams involved, the media and the accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance during the lottery. The balls are mixed for 20 seconds before the first one is drawn. Three more balls are drawn after 10-second mixing intervals between each selection. The team with the drawn four-number combination wins the draft lottery. The process is then repeated for picks Nos. 2-14.
There are 1,001 possible combinations for each set of four ping-pong balls drawn from the lottery of 14.
After the picks are determined, a representative from Ernst & Young places the results in 14 sealed envelopes and delivers them to Tatum, who will open the envelopes one by one during the broadcast.
