How will Sixers fare in NBA draft lottery after clinching fifth-worst record?

The NBA draft lottery is going to be interesting.

The Sixers secured the league’s fifth-worst record on Friday with a convincing 124-110 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. With one game remaining, the Sixers (24-57) were 2½ losses ahead of the league’s sixth-worst Brooklyn Nets, who played late Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They’ll have a 10.5% chance to land the No. 1 pick in next month’s lottery. And the Sixers will have a 63.9% chance of keeping their top-six protected draft pick by clinching the fifth-worst record. The draft pick will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder in June’s draft if it finishes outside the top six.

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Give the Sixers credit for their master class in trying to keep your draft pick. They have resorted to a full-blown tank job, highlighted by the fact that they typically rest at least eight rotational players.

On Friday, they were without 12 players. As a result, rookie Adem Bona, second-year player Ricky Council IV, and two-way player Jeff Dowtin IV were the only available Sixers who joined the team before February.

So it wasn’t surprising that they unveiled their NBA record 54th starting lineup: Lonnie Walker IV, Marcus Bagley, Jared Butler, Bona, and Council.

The reserves consisted of Dowtin, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Colin Castleton. Like Dowtin, Hood-Schifino is a two-way player. Bagley is on his second 10-day contract, while Friday was the ninth day of Castleton’s 10-day deal. The 6-foot-10 center won’t finish out his contract after agreeing to a two-year standard contract with the Toronto Raptors Friday morning.

And the Sixers kept to their normal script. They played hard and made sure things stayed competitive for three quarters only to see their opponents break the game open in the fourth quarter.

This time, the Hawks (39-42) went on a 20-7 run to take a commanding, 120-102, lead with 3 minutes, 22 seconds remaining.

Bagley had a career night for the Sixers. The power forward finished with a career-high 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting, making 4 of 8 three-pointers. The 6-8, 215-pounder previously made just 1 of 21 threes in his first eight games.

‘It feels good, finally made some shots tonight," Bagley said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity, obviously, it’s a dream come true to be out here, no matter what stats I have, just to be out there playing is a dream come true. So, I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”

Bagley also had 10 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and one steal in 38:22 of playing time against the Hawks.

“I think again, he’s had some opportunities,” coach Nick Nurse said. “And it’s part of getting comfortable a little bit, I think. If you look at it before the game, you’d say that’s a good game. Twenty, 10, five, and hitting four threes — that’s a pretty good game. A lot of minutes too for him. I think probably a few too many, he was pretty tired out there. But yeah, he looked good.”

The Sixers had six double-figure scorers with Butler leading the way with 25 points to go with seven assists. Castleton also finished with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting to go with eight rebounds.

» READ MORE: Sixers center Adem Bona hopes to close the season strong and embrace one final challenge

Hawks All-Star Trae Young produced game highs of 36 points and 11 assists, while Caris LeVert scored a season-high 31 points. Mouhamed Gueye added 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.

But now the focus is on the draft lottery.

Will the Sixers keep their draft pick away from the Thunder? If so, what will they do with it? Make a selection in June’s draft? Or trade the pick?

They’ll definitely have options.

The upcoming draft is projected to be one of the best ones in several years. Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, and Rutgers’ Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are among the headliners.

The Sixers would benefit from adding a young standout to play alongside Tyrese Maxey and take some of the pressure off Joel Embiid and Paul George, who have both had disappointing injury-plagued seasons.

Embiid, who played in just 19 games because of an ongoing left knee injury, had arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday. Meanwhile, George, who played in 41 games, received injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and his left knee on March 17.

Even if Embiid and George are healthier and more impactful next season, there’s no available cap space to add impactful players in free agency. So the Sixers had no choice but to tank once this season turned into a lost cause.

Now, after clinching the fifth-worst record, all of the attention turns to the lottery.