For one brief shining moment in Washington Wizards history, they had the best lottery odds of landing Victory Wembanyama in the 2023 NBA Draft. But that moment didn't last long, as the San Antonio Spurs swooped in and ended up with the franchise-altering talent.
The NBA draft lottery gives teams ownership of 4-number combinations of ping pong balls with each number ranging from 1 to 14 representing the 14 teams in the lottery. There will be 1,000 possible combinations once they draw during the lottery, with teams getting more combos depending on how high their draft slot is.
The Wizards came in with just a 6.7 percent chance to come out of it with a chance at Victor Wembanyama at the 2023 NBA Draft. But after the first 3 numbers were drawn – 14, 5, and 8 – they were firmly in the driver's seat owning 6 of the last remaining 11 balls in play. That's almost a 55 percent chance to win it. But luck isn't something Washington has in spades.
Update (with full list): After the first three numbers were picked, the Washington Wizards had 6 of the possible 11 remaining numbers (7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13) and barely missed.
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 17, 2023
The #2 ball formed the winning combination, one owned by the Spurs and just five the Wizards didn't own. Few teams are better equipped to take care of a potential dynasty piece in Victor Wembanyama like San Antonio is. They've practically written the playbook on how to build around a generational big man.
Washington is arguably the furthest thing from having that track record, having failed to even just win 50 games in a single season since the 70s. They've continued to walk on the treadmill of mediocrity for decades now and were a lucky bouncing ping pong ball away from potentially changing that. But Wizards fans know better than to get their hopes up.
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