The San Antonio Spurs took a significant step forward for their franchise on Tuesday night. This is after the Spurs sensationally won Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery, thereby getting a chance to select Victor Wembanyama as the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft.
As it turns out, however, the Portland Trail Blazers actually came agonizingly close to winning the first pick in the draft lottery. Apparently, the Blazers missed out on Wemby by just one number on the final ball of the lottery. This report comes via NBA writer Ben Golliver of the Washington Post:
“The San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Draft lottery and the right to select Victor Wembanyama with the ping pong ball combo 14, 5, 8, 2. The Portland Trail Blazers held the combination 14, 5, 8, 3. They missed by just one number on the final ball,” Golliver wrote.
Spurs fans are thanking the high heavens for their luck. Blazers supporters, however, will be even more depressed after seeing this. They literally lost out on a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama by just a single number on the last ball of the draft. That's got to be a tough pill to swallow — and one that will likely haunt the Blazers organization for many years to come.
For what it's worth, Portland had just a 10% chance of winning Tuesday's NBA Draft lottery. They were projected to get the No. 5 pick, so the fact that they climbed to No. 3 is a noteworthy leap for them. However, the thought that they almost got their hands on Wemby is not something Blazers fans will forget anytime soon.
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