Pelicans land No. 1 pick, first dibs at Williamson

Grizzlies, Knicks, Lakers round out top 4 of draft

Thursday: vs. New Zealand; friendly in St. Louis, 8 p.m.

May 26: vs. Mexico; friendly

Harrison, N.J., 11:30 a.m.

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP, FRANCE June 11: Tuesday’s leaders: Fourth Stage at Frascati, Italy

A 146-mile,

Frascati

1. Richard

5:58:17.

2. Caleb Ewan, same time.

3. Diego Ulissi, Italy, UAE Team Emirates, same time.

4. Pascal Ackermann, Germany, :02 behind.

5. Florian Senechal, France, same time.

CHICAGO — The Pelicans bucked the odds and won the NBA draft lottery, and now will have the first chance at choosing Zion Williamson next month.

The Pelicans won the lottery for the first time since 2012, when they selected Anthony Davis. And the lottery win comes after a season when Davis wanted a trade — something that might not seem so appealing to him now, not with Williamson likely coming to New Orleans.

The Grizzlies will choose second, the Knicks third and the Lakers will pick fourth.

Williamson said he has never been to New Orleans. That might soon change.

“This just jump-starts the process,” new Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said. “It’ll be harder for me to mess it up than it would have been before this.”

The Pelicans were the biggest winners — and the Grizzlies and Lakers had reason to celebrate as well. They all moved up, much to the chagrin of teams like the Knicks, Cavaliers and Suns. The Suns, Cavs and Knicks all had the best chance of winning the lottery, and neither even got as much as a No. 2 pick.

“We’re going to get a really good player ... potentially ... a great player,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.

Williamson will have an excellent chance at seeing his name added to the list of other No. 1 picks who entered the league with much fanfare in the lottery era, players like LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson and Allen Iverson.

“Still nervous,” Williamson said on ESPN after the lottery ended. “I don’t know why. I don’t know where I’m going to be.”

The Cavs will pick fifth, followed by the Suns, Bulls and Hawks. The Wizards have the No. 9 pick, the Hawks go again at 10 and the Timberwolves are at No. 11. The Hornets are next up, followed by the Heat at 13 and the Celtics at 14. That pick was conveyed to the Celtics by the Kings as part of an earlier trade.

The Hawks felt they were big winners, too, after getting two top-10 picks.

“There’s always good players,” said Hawks guard Kevin Huerter, the No. 19 pick in last year’s draft and part of team’s contingent at the lottery. “Every team just has to go out and find them.”

Williamson was one of three now-former Duke starters at the lottery — R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish were among the invited players as well.

Barrett and Reddish where they’re heading.

Williamson has a pretty good idea. don’t know