NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks finished the worst season in franchise history on Wednesday night, and now they hope to reap the benefit.

Thanks to Wednesday's loss to the Detroit Pistons -- their 65th of the season -- the Knicks will pick no lower than fifth in the NBA Draft. They also have a 19.9 percent chance of landing the top pick.

New York will find out where it selects on May 19 when the NBA conducts its draft lottery.

The franchise hopes to either obtain a player who can be a cornerstone for the future -- or trade the pick for an elite player who can contribute immediately.

The chance of a high pick is why Phil Jackson recently said this forgettable season “may be a godsend.”

For much of the year, it seemed as if New York would finish with the league’s worst record and obtain the best odds to land the top pick.

But the Knicks won two of their final three games to close out the season at 17-65, which is the worst record in franchise history but not bad enough to give New York the best lottery odds.

Minnesota (16-66) finished with sole possession of the NBA’s worst mark.

The Timberwolves will pick no lower than fourth and have a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick.

The Philadelphia 76ers (18-64) finished with the third-worst record and have a 15.6 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick.

Many fans were upset at the Knicks’ late-season success and the impact it had on their lottery chances. But head coach Derek Fisher offered no apologies.

“We have no control over the ping pong balls and the last I checked my job is to try and win as much as we can even if it throws off people’s thoughts about what we should be doing in the lottery,” Fisher said on Wednesday. “…. The message to the players and our fans would be the same: anytime you put on a New York Knick uniform you’re supposed to go out and try to win -- period.”

The Knicks may not have the best odds in the lottery, but they are still in strong position to land a top player.

According to ESPN’s analytics, they have a 55.8 percent chance of landing a top-three pick.

Many draft observers see six top-tier players in this year's draft class: Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, D'Angelo Russell, Emmanuel Mudiay, Willie Cauley-Stein and Justise Winslow.

The Knicks assured themselves of a chance to draft one of them.

New York will also have at least $25 million in cap space to spend in free agency.

Carmelo Anthony, Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr., Cleanthony Early are the only players with fully guaranteed contracts for 2015-16.

So the Knicks will have at least nine roster spots to fill in the offseason. They are expected to bring several players from this year’s team back. Lance Thomas and Galloway appear to be strong candidates to return.