Prior to the start of the Western Conference Finals in Denver between the Nuggets and Lakers, the eyes of the league were focused on ping pong balls being drawn in Chicago to determine the order of the first 14 picks in June’s NBA Draft.
While the Draft Lottery is always an event fans look forward to — particularly fans of teams who had rough seasons — this year’s event brought in even more interest given the stakes. The team landing the No. 1 overall pick would get the right to select Victor Wembanyama, considered the best prospect to enter the league at least since LeBron James — and some argue since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The hype around the 7’3 French star is unbelievable, and where he lands figures to have a seismic impact on the league.
As the lottery played out, it went according to plan for the first nine picks, with the Portland Trail Blazers becoming the first team to move up into the top 4, only further building the tension in the room — with Detroit falling all the way to No. 5. Ultimately, the San Antonio Spurs ended up winning the lottery and the Wembanyama sweepstakes, seeing their franchise trajectory changed with some fortuitous ping pong ball bounces
1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Charlotte Hornets
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Houston Rockets
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Orlando Magic
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Washington Wizards
9. Utah Jazz
10. Dallas Mavericks
11. Orlando Magic (via Chicago Bulls)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
13. Toronto Raptors
14. New Orleans Pelicans
It will be the third time the Spurs have picked No. 1 overall, where they’ve done very well for themselves, taking a pair of Hall of Fame big men — David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997. They’ll hope Wembanyama lives up to the ample hype and joins those two in becoming legendary Spurs.
Charlotte, meanwhile, will have their choice of the rest, with Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller as the two players most view as the second best prospect. Detroit had the toughest night of any team, falling from top-3 odds all the way to fifth, while the Bulls failing to jump up lost their pick to Orlando from the Nikola Vucevic trade.