The Lottery order for the 2021 NBA Draft is all set. While the festivities were slightly different than usual due to the circumstances forced upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic — i.e., a bunch of people did not go to a Hilton in New York City — the Lottery order was set on Tuesday evening, with the Detroit Pistons, represented at the Lottery by franchise legend Ben Wallace, coming out on top. While they are viewed as the winners of the Cade Cunningham sweepstakes, the Houston Rockets will be right behind them in second, while the Cleveland Cavaliers will once again get a high pick at No. 3.
While the bottom half of the lottery played out more or less as expected, some intrigue came about when the ping pong balls made it so the Cavaliers and Raptors jumped into the top-4, alongside the Rockets (which could have been forced to send their pick to the Thunder if it fell outside the top-4) and the Pistons. But ultimately, the ping pong balls were the kindest to the Pistons, which will add a franchise player to their young core that includes Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, Jerami Grant, and Isaiah Stewart.
Here is the full order at the top of the 2021 NBA Draft:
1. Detroit Pistons
2. Houston Rockets
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Toronto Raptors
5. Orlando Magic
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
7. Golden State Warriors (via Minnesota Timberwolves)
8. Orlando Magic (via Chicago Bulls)
9. Sacramento Kings
10. New Orleans Pelicans
11. Charlotte Hornets
12. San Antonio Spurs
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Golden State Warriors