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NBA fans cringe at ‘excruciating’ lottery as Detroit get first overall pick

The New Orleans Pelicans may have only got the tenth pick in the NBA Draft Lottery but the club’s rep has won the night.

Andrew McMurtryAndrew McMurtry
@AndrewMcMurtry
2 min read
June 23, 2021 - 12:30PM
Swin Cash's hilarious reaction to the NBA Draft Lottery

Try as ESPN might, some events are just not made for TV.

With the NBA in the midst of a truly fascinating playoffs as the final four have been decided, the also rans in 2020-21 are already planning for next year.

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An important part of that is the Draft but before the picks can be made, they have to know the order.

While ultimately the Houston Rockets, who had the worst record in the NBA this season, will now pick second after the Detroit Pistons jumped into first, it was hardly the most scintillating television.

Unfortunately the way they reveal this is some of the more excruciating TV you’re likely to see with team representatives Zoom reactions to their picks.

Ben Wallace and the Pistons go No. 1.
Ben Wallace and the Pistons go No. 1.

Arguably the most interesting part of the night was that Chicago lost its eighth overall pick to the Orlando Magic as the pick was traded as part of March’s swap for All-Star centre Nikola Vucevic and forward Al-Farouq Aminu from Orlando.

The Bulls sent Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and two first-round picks from both the upcoming 2021 draft and the 2023 draft. But if the 2021 pick fell in the top four, the Bulls would have retained it.

ESPN did try to add some interest to the coverage with former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton spoke about being picked up by the Suns, about 45 minutes before he was playing in the Western Conference Finals with Phoenix.

While the Piston were the big winners of the night, they didn’t win on the NBA Twitter stakes like Swin Cash did.

Way down in 10th on the pick board, Cash, the New Orleans Pelicans VP of Operations, gave the most disappointed, disinterested non-reaction you’re ever likely to see — and the fans loved it.

Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham is widely-regarded as the No. 1 selection and has already said he would visit just one team — whoever got the No. 1 pick.

Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Alperen Sengun and Jalen Suggs considered the other front runners to go early in the Draft.

Full 2021 NBA Draft Lottery Results

14. Golden State Warriors

13. Indiana Pacers

12. San Antonio Spurs

11. Charlotte Hornets

10. New Orleans Pelicans

9. Sacramento Kings

8. Orlando Magic

7. Golden State Warriors

6. Oklahoma City Thunder

5. Orlando Magic

4. Toronto Raptors

3. Cleveland Cavaliers

2. Houston Rockets

1. Detroit Pistons

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/american-sports/nba/nba-fans-cringe-at-excruciating-lottery-as-detroit-get-first-overall-pick/news-story/7d6f1d1b7a9dc0ac87083b41c4333372