No luck for Raptors at 2023 NBA draft lottery
Victor Wembanyama is not coming to Toronto, as the Raptors didn’t get lucky at the 2023 NBA draft lottery.
With just a 1% chance at winning the first pick, that’s not a surprise. The Raptors had just a 4.7% chance at landing a top-four pick, and they will instead pick 13th at the NBA Draft on June 22 in Brooklyn.
The Raptors, who entered the lottery with the second-lowest odds at winning out of 14 participating teams, had a 92.9% chance at remaining at 13. They had a 2.3% chance at dropping to 14th.
The San Antonio Spurs won the lottery, and will select first overall. The Charlotte Hornets will pick second, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets.
The Detroit Pistons were the big losers this year, as the last-place team fell four spots, and will pick fifth overall.
The results for the Top 4 picks in the 2023 #NBADraftLottery presented by State Farm:
1. Spurs
2. Hornets
3. Trail Blazers
4. Rockets pic.twitter.com/0iJPmiDrmF— NBA (@NBA) May 17, 2023
Wembanyama, a 7-foot-5 generational talent from France, is the big prize in the draft this year. Other top prospects include Brandon Miller (6-foot-9 small forward, Alabama) and Scoot Henderson (6-foot-2 point guard, G League).
2023 NBA draft order
San Antonio, Charlotte, and Portland each rose two spots from the reverse order of the NBA standings, to claim the top three spots. Houston dropped two spots, while Detroit fell four spots. The other 10 teams in the lottery remained in their expected draft order.
1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Charlotte Hornets
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Houston Rockets
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Orlando Magic
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Washington Wizards
9. Utah Jazz
10. Dallas Mavericks
11. Orlando Magic
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
13. Toronto Raptors
14. New Orleans Pelicans