If any of you know a Detroit Pistons fan, make sure to give this person a hug. Forget the fact that they’ve only made the playoffs twice in the last decade. Forget the fact that they have failed to win at least 30 games in each of the last five years. Their lack of luck in the Draft Lottery is completely insane.
Yes, they won the lottery in 2021 and were able to select Cade Cunningham, but it feels like they’ve been punished endlessly ever since. The Pistons had the best chance at landing the No. 1 pick in the draft after finishing with a 14-68 record, the worst in the NBA, and they fell to No. 5.
This is not the first time this has happened. In fact, it happened three years in a row. They selected Jaden Ivey at No. 5 in 2022 and Ausar Thompson at No. 5 last year. Good players with promising futures, sure, but they weren’t the No. 1 picks for a reason. Consistently finishing with one of, if not the worst record in the league only to lose four spots in the lottery is just an extremely difficult pill to swallow.
The Pistons were the biggest losers, but they were far from the only ones. These three teams can also be called losers after the lottery results have been revealed.
THE Portland Trail Blazers entered the first year of its rebuild after trading Damian Lillard last offseason and finished with a 21-61 record, last in the Western Conference. They have a solid core with players like last year’s No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe, and they had a great opportunity to add to that with two lottery picks at their disposal.
The first revealed was the pick they had in the Golden State Warriors. No one expected this pick to move up because it had the worst odds of winning the lottery, and it didn’t, but what happened right after should drive Blazers fans crazy.
THE Atlanta Falcons shockingly won the lottery considering they were a Play-In team and went from 13th best odds to first overall pick. While this is a good thing for Atlanta, it’s a tough pill to swallow for a team like the Portland Trail Blazers.
Then their own pick, which had the fourth-highest odds before the draft, fell to 7th overall. Having two picks in the top 14 is never a bad thing, but it could have been a lot better. They were one spot behind the team that ended up winning the lottery, and their good pick fell three spots. Their future is still bright, but they could have had a much better chance in the lottery.
Things are improving for the Charlotte Frelons. Not only do they have LaMelo Ball, a star player when healthy, but they also selected Brandon Miller second overall in last season’s NBA draft. It was a selection criticized by many, but it turned out to be the right choice as Miller had a solid rookie season.
Having Ball and Miller surrounded by a solid rim protector in Mark Williams and a new head coach in Charles Lee gives Hornets fans reason to be optimistic. Imagine if they were able to land another high-end pick.
Charlotte went 21-61 last season and had the third-best chance to land the No. 1 overall pick. Instead of advancing or even staying #3, the Hornets fell. Not only did they fall, but they also fell out of the top five and will be selected 6th overall. Is it horrible? No, but then again, it could have been much better.
The biggest losers not named the Pistons are undoubtedly the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors needed lottery luck more than anyone, arguably including the Pistons, and they didn’t get it.
The Raptors completely fell apart over time to finish with a 25-57 record this season. They had the sixth-best odds for the No. 1 overall pick, but more importantly, they just needed to find a way to stay at No. 6. The Raptors’ pick they traded to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2022-23 trade. Deadline Jakob Poeltl was protected in the top six. If he had landed in the top six, they would have kept him. If he fell, this pick would go to the Spurs. Of course, he fell, which made a bad trade even worse.
The Raptors’ pick fell to No. 8 overall, giving Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs two picks in the top eight. The lottery was a resounding success for the Spurs, while the Raptors are arguably even bigger losers than the Pistons. They still have a first-round pick from the Pacers that they got in the Pascal Siakam trade, but it will be toward the end of the first round.
The Raptors really could have used a high-end prospect to pair alongside Scottie Barnes, but will have to endure another year of losing to potentially get said prospect.
