The worst record in the NBA was not enough to guarantee the Detroit Pistons the coveted draft pick.
For the second year in a row, the Pistons finished with the worst record in the NBA.
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And for the second year in a row, the Pistons will not pick first overall in the upcoming draft despite having a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery.
Instead, the winning pick went to the Atlanta Hawks, who finished the season with 22 more wins than Detroit.
The Washington Wizards will pick second, having had the best odds to pick first with the Pistons.
The third pick went to the Houston Rockets, followed by the San Antonio Spurs in fourth.
Detroit will place fifth overall for the third year in a row.
In 2023, they selected Ausar Thompson in their first-round selection.
The year before, they added Jaden Ivy, who was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.
The news that the Pistons received the fifth overall pick has once again drawn some furious reactions from fans on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The NBA draft process is a big part of why I don’t care about basketball as much as I did when I was a kid,” one wrote.
“[Charlotte] The Hornets are never lucky and I’m just not convinced it’s not rigged.”
A second said: “Pistons stolen by @nba rigged lottery for third year in a row. The FBI should investigate.”
As another added: “Late morning conspiracy theory, but to me it’s obvious the lottery is rigged in some way.
“Pistons fans can continue to act indifferently. The league punishes teams that fail.
“The Pistons have repeatedly tried to rely on draft picks for fear of falling, that’s what we deserve.”
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This was the sixth year in a row that the team with the league’s worst record didn’t get the top pick, according to Bleacher report.
As for Atlanta, which finished 10th in the Eastern Conference this season, general manager Landry Fields admitted he was shocked.
“When I first saw that it wasn’t us 10-12 year olds, that put us in the top four,” he recalled, as per NBA.com.
2024 NBA Draft Request – Lottery Picks
- Atlanta Falcons
- Wizards of Washington
- Houston Rockets (via Brooklyn)
- St. Anthony’s incentive
- Detroit pistons
- Charlotte Hornets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Utah Jazz
- Chicago buffaloes
- Oklahoma City Thunder (via Houston)
- Kings of Sacramento
- Portland Trail Blazers (via Golden State)
“I thought, okay, we have a real chance to do this. A little surprise, but a lot of excitement.”
The Draft is scheduled to be held in New York between June 26th and 27th.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
