The San Antonio Spurs get the opportunity to make a potentially franchise-altering selection in June after winning the NBA draft lottery Tuesday.
San Antonio will almost certainly opt for French big man Victor Wembanyama with the first overall selection.
The Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Detroit Pistons round out the draft’s top five.
| PICK | TEAM |
|---|---|
| 1 | Spurs |
| 2 | Hornets |
| 3 | Trail Blazers |
| 4 | Rockets |
| 5 | Pistons |
| 6 | Magic |
| 7 | Pacers |
| 8 | Wizards |
| 9 | Jazz |
| 10 | Mavericks |
| 11 | Magic (via CHI) |
| 12 | Thunder |
| 13 | Raptors |
| 14 | Pelicans |
Detroit had joint-best odds at winning the No. 1 selection thanks to a league-worst 17-65 record but suffered the biggest drop in the lottery by falling to fifth. The Pistons shared a 14% chance of securing the top pick along with the Spurs and Rockets. The team with the worst NBA record has now failed to earn the first overall pick in five consecutive seasons, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
San Antonio previously landed the top selection on two occasions. The franchise took center David Robinson first overall in 1987 and drafted big man Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest a decade later. Both went on to have Hall of Fame careers spent entirely with the Spurs and won multiple championships.
“There’s a special relation between France and the Spurs because of Tony (Parker) and Boris (Diaw),” Wembanyama said during the broadcast of the draft lottery. “I know half of the country, maybe the whole country, wanted the Spurs to have the first pick.”
The draft is slated for June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
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