PELICANS GET NO. 1
Likely to pick Duke’s Williamson
CHICAGO» In a high-stakes NBA draft lottery Tuesday, the New Orleans Pelicans unexpectedly landed the No. 1 overall pick in June’s draft, which could shift the star power of the league for the foreseeable future, thanks to a possible once-in-a-generation talent atop the board.
By virtue of winning the lottery despite having the seventh-best odds, the Pelicans will have the enviable option of drafting Zion Williamson, who spent one season at Duke creating the type of buzz for an NBA prospect not seen since LeBron James in 2003. Williamson, 18, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound multi-position athlete, was the consensus national player of the year and is universally considered a lock to be selected first on June 20. The Pelicans have been engulfed in turmoil for months, as superstar Anthony Davis requested a trade. as yet unfulfilled.
Though three teams with lower odds — the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans — unexpectedly leaped into the top four, the Grizzlies, Knicks and Lakers came up just short of No. 1, landing the second through fourth picks, respectively. The remaining teams that did not secure a top-four pick were then ordered by worst regular-season records. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns, tied with the Knicks for the best odds, ended up fifth and sixth.
The Williamson sweepstakes consumed the closing months of the NBA’s regular season, with multiple teams jockeying for better draft position — via worse records — for the right to draft him.
From March 1 onward, the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers finished the season with 4-16 records, the lowest winning percentage over the last 20 games, while the Phoenix Suns stumbled to a 7-13 mark. Still, the Knicks proved more capable in the art of losing, cementing the league’s worst record at 17-65.
For the first time in league history, the restructured lottery system evened the odds so that the three teams with the fewest wins shared a 14 percent chance at winning the top pick. Under the previous structure, the Knicks would have had a 25 percent chance.
After New York, Cleveland and Phoenix, the Williamson odds reduced for every other lottery team. The Chicago Bulls (2260), who rested many of their top players toward the end of the season, had a 12.5 percent chance. The Atlanta Hawks, a young team that showed promise as rookie guard Trae Young improved later in the year, earned a 10.5 percent chance — only slightly higher than the Washington Wizards, the sixth seed, who had a 9 percent probability. The New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks each had a 6 percent shot; the Minnesota Timberwolves at 3 percent; Los Angeles Lakers at 2 percent; and the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings shared 1 percent odds.
Is Williamson worth the hassle? Time will tell, but in one highlight-filled season with the Blue Devils, Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. He won multiple awards, including ACC player of the year and the Naismith Award, while playing as the college game’s most famous player. He has long been designated as the fourth player in Duke’s history to go No. 1 overall.
Williamson, the high schooler who went viral with every windmill and between-thelegs dunk, had the additional pressure of coming into prominence in the Twitter age. He arrived on Duke’s campus carrying hype from millions of social media bandwagoners. But unlike many others before him, Williamson was prepared for his eight-month rest stop in the college game and surpassed expectations.