The Orlando Magic will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Orlando — who had the NBA’s second-worst record this season — won the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night.
The Magic were followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 2 and Houston Rockets at No. 3.
The Sacramento Kings had the seventh-best odds, but they moved up to No. 4 (they had a 32.0% chance to move into the top-four).
The Rockets, Orlando Magic, and Detroit Pistons each had a 14.0% chance to get the No. 1 pick. Detroit — a 52.0% chance
to pick in the top-four — fell to No. 5.
Oklahoma City Thunder has the No. 2, 12, and No. 30 picks (and they have 17 first-round picks through 2026).
Here are the full Lottery results:
No. 1 Orlando Magic
No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 3 Houston Rockets
No. 4 Sacramento Kings
No. 5 Detroit Pistons
No. 6 Indiana Pacers
No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers
No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans
No. 9 San Antonio Spurs
No. 10 Washington Wizards
No. 11 New York Knicks
No. 12 Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 13 Charlotte Hornets
No. 14 Cleveland Cavaliers
While having the first pick is of course the optimal situation (and allows for more trade possibilities), there are many intriguing prospects in this draft, and the draft boards of NBA teams will surely vary quite a bit for the top prospects. Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren, Auburn power forward Jabari Smith, and Duke power forward Paolo Banchero are the consensus top-three prospects.
However, they’re all 6’10”-plus frontcourt players, and some teams may also prefer a player like Purdue guard Jaden Ivey or Iowa forward Keegan Murray.
Here’s a look at how the basketball world is reacting to the NBA Draft Lottery results:
Giving the Orlando Magic the first draft pick pic.twitter.com/qhDFEurZED
— ¡BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL! (@edsbs) May 18, 2022
https://twitter.com/teamziller/status/1526724471817588736
As soon as I saw Sabonis was the Kings representative I knew exactly what was going to happen to the Pacers
— Jay Rigdon (@jayrigdon5) May 18, 2022
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.