Forty-five minutes before a nationally televised audience views the ceremonial unveiling of the NBA draft lottery’s results Tuesday, the actual ping-pong ball drawing will unfold in a separate room inside the Chicago Hilton.
Moderator Kiki Vandeweghe, a team official from 14 franchises, select media members and an Ernst and Young lawyer will be present — stripped of communication devices such as cell phones, computers.
Fourteen ping-pong balls are placed into a hopper — each numbered 1-14. According to an internal memo, the ping-pong balls will already have been weighed, measured and certified by the firm Smart Play — a leading manufacturer of state lottery machines.