The Orlando Magic will now have the No.1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, after they have won the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday. This is the fourth time that the Magic wins the top overall pick.
Rounding out the top five are the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons.
The last time that the Magic drafted first, which was in 2004, they picked Dwight Howard. It will definitely become a major success for the franchise if they can get someone like Howard this time around.
As for the candidates themselves, there is no clear-cut top pick for this year’s draft. Some of the possible options include Auburn forward Jabari Smith, Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren, Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, and Duke forward Paolo Banchero.
Ivey was the top prospect on the Top 75 Big Board while Holmgren was the top pick in Kyle Boone’s latest mock draft.
Going at 22-60 and missing the playoffs for two straight seasons, the Magic had the second-worst record in the previous season of the league. The payoff, however, was winning the No.1 overall pick during the lottery.
“The fans, the organization, it’s so exciting. There’s so much to look forward to. It’s going to be special.” said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley.
It’s only natural for a coach to be always optimistic about the future of his team, but it seems that the Magic could be on the edge of establishing something extraordinary. Last season, they had two lottery picks in Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Wagner seems to be a shoo-in for the All-Rookie Team.
There’s certainly a lot of young talent in the Magic’s roster at the moment, including Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Chuma Okeke, Wendell Carter Jr., and RJ Hampton. Add Suggs, Wagner, plus whoever they will pick at the draft this year and things could get better for the Magic for the next few years.
The Sacramento Kings, burdened with the seventh-worst record in the league last season, won the No. 4 overall pick. This is good news for the Kings, who were pretty much down on their luck during the past few years.
The team hasn’t appeared in the playoffs since 2006, the longest drought ever in the league. Efforts were made to change the last season by trading Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis to the Indiana Pacers. The team still didn’t make it to the playoffs, but they might have a shot at doing so by adding another top-four pick to the roster.
Before this year’s lottery, The Portland Trail Blazers last one was in 2012, when they picked Damian Lillard. They have had eight straight appearances in the playoffs since then. The team was unlucky during this year’s lottery though, since they only got the seventh overall pick.
The Trail Blazers were hoping for a better pick since the team is undergoing a much-needed transformation. After Lillard had abdominal surgery, Portland traded Larry Nance Jr., Norman Powell, CJ McCollum, and Robert Covington. Jusuf Nurkic will become a free agent.
It’s all about rebuilding their core around Lillard and the team could have used the top three or four of the draft lottery for their efforts.
