Magic win NBA lottery for 4th time
The Magic won the NBA draft lottery Tuesday night and landed the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since they got Dwight Howard in 2004.
It’s the fourth time lottery luck struck for the Magic, who won in back-to-back years in 1992 and 1993, taking Shaquille O’neal and then trading the rights to Chris Webber for Penny Hardaway.
The Magic finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 22-60 and missed the playoffs for the eighth time in 10 years. But they got a huge win in the lottery, where they had a 14% chance landing the top pick.
Duke’s Paolo Banchero, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey and Auburn’s Jabari Smith are widely considered the most likely candidates to be taken first. The draft is June 23 in New York.
The Thunder got the second pick, followed by the Astros and Kings.
The Pistons pick fifth, with the Pacers, Trail Blazers, Pelicans and Wizards rounding out the top 10.
The rest of the lottery results are: Knicks, Thunder, Hornets and Cavaliers.
The Astros, Magic and Pistons had the best odds of winning the lottery at 14%.
A Louisville, Ky., woman has filed for an emergency protective order against Cavaliers G Rajon Rondo and alleges the former Kentucky star brandished a gun and threatened her life. The woman alleges the 36-year-old Rondo “became enraged” last week during a confrontation and filed for the EPO on Friday in Jefferson County Family Court. She says in the EPO that Rondo then went outside and knocked over the trash cans, stomped on the landscaping lights and drove his car onto the lawn. Rondo returned and beat on a window with a gun before giving the gun to former Louisville Metro Police interim chief Yvette Gentry and leaving.
Soccer: Liverpool beat host Southampton 2-1 to push the Premier League title race to the wire. Defending champ Manchester City leads second-place Liverpool by one point heading into the final round Sunday. Liverpool is at home to Wolverhampton at the same time as City hosts Aston Villa — managed by Liverpool great Steven Gerrard. City remains the favorite in its bid for a sixth league title in 11 seasons, but Liverpool has done its part by taking the defending champions all the way. Liverpool was 14 points behind City at one point in January, albeit with two games in hand. Somehow, the title is still within reach with 90 minutes left to play . ... Inter Miami officials told the Miami Herald that a DIRECTV Sports Argentina report saying Lionel Messi will acquire 35% of Inter Miami and join the MLS club in 2023 isn’t true. Messi’s agents denied the initial report to Le Parisien. The 34-yearold seven-time Ballon d’or award winner, who has a home in South Florida and has said in the past that he wouldn’t mind spending a few years playing in MLS, has a contract with French League champ Paris Saint-germain that runs through 2023.
Tennis: Second-ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia lost his comeback match after a six-week injury layoff, falling 6-2, 7-6 (5) to France’s Richard Gasquet in the second round at the Geneva Open. The 26-year-old Medvedev, who underwent hernia surgery last month, has never won an ATP event on clay.