Hornets hope Brandon Miller brings luck in NBA Draft Lottery

A sense of deja vu may overcome Brandon Miller on Sunday.

The Charlotte Hornets swingman will be back in a familiar environment, once again at the same venue he found himself in a year ago. Except this time, Miller has a different mission in mind: bringing the Hornets some luck so they can grab the top overall selection in next month’s NBA Draft.

Miller is representing the Hornets on the dais for the NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place in Chicago, signaling just how far he’s come in 12 months. He was unsure of his future employer during his last visit there, especially with the debate raging about whether he’d be selected second behind Victor Wembanaya or if the distinction was instead going to Scoot Henderson.

Everyone knows how that worked out.

So now, fresh off finishing third in the rookie of the year voting, Miller is hoping to be the Hornets’ lucky charm and help them secure something that’s been elusive since 1991. It’s been quite a while.

More than three decades have elapsed since the Hornets were awarded the No. 1 pick in the draft despite boasting the fifthbest odds and selected Larry Johnson, who’s still one of the franchise’s most popular players. They came close twice in the past four years by landing Miller at No. 2 and beating their odds in 2020 when they nabbed the third spot and plucked LaMelo Ball off the board.

After taking a tiebreaker with Portland, the Hornets have a 13.3% chance of winning the lottery, which is third-best behind the 14% of Detroit and Washington, and ahead of the Trail Blazers’ 13.2. So, is this the year that top-pick drought ends for the Hornets?

Some have joked that will be the case considering this is ex