With the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery this Tuesday, the New York Knicks are hoping the ping-pong balls bounce their way to accelerate their rebuild.
Besides the NBA Draft, the Lottery is the event that all non-playoff teams circle on their calendar. With the order of the Draft becoming set in stone, front offices can finally get a clear picture of where their team is picking and who’s likely to be available at that slot.
Normally, the 2018 NBA Draft order comes out roughly as projected, with one or two teams moving around in the process.
Every so often, though, a team projected on the lower end of the lottery shoots up to the top of the board, obtaining a top-three pick and changing the fate of their franchise in the process.
This was no more apparent than in 2014, when the Cleveland Cavaliers were awarded the No. 1 overall pick after having just a 1.7 percent chance of doing so.
Cleveland drafted Andrew Wiggins, shipped him to Minnesota for Kevin Love, and two years later, the team won the first championship in franchise history.
The Knicks have had their fair share of ups and downs when it comes to the lottery, with some shocking moments that have come to shape the team’s past and its future.
In 2015, after a franchise-worst 17 wins, New York had the second-best odds in the lottery.
They’d been arguably the worst in the league throughout the season, but after winning two of their last three games, they let that title go to the Timberwolves. It was a costly mistake, as Minnesota wound up with the No. 1 overall pick, selecting Karl Anthony-Towns.
To the dismay of many, the Knicks scored the fourth pick—a disappointment for fans everywhere after the horrible season they’d just endured.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the team wound up drafting Kristaps Porzingis, who has turned into one of the best young stars in the game.
Remember when the Knicks were so upset about falling to 4th in 2015 draft lottery. I'd say they were pretty lucky to get this guy! https://t.co/ieM9uA7nOn
— Mark Schanowski (@MarkSchanowski) November 4, 2017
The most notable Lottery moment for the orange and blue came in 1985, the first year of the Lottery format. Patrick Ewing, one of the best college basketball players ever, was the prize for whichever team obtained that No. 1 pick.
The league didn’t have lottery odds back then, as each of the 14 teams were simply picked at random via a large spherical container filled with envelopes, each representing a team.
While some may consider that first lottery to be rigged on account of commissioner David Stern allegedly tampering with New York’s envelope, Knicks fans didn’t care, as their team was awarded the top spot and the right to draft Ewing.
After 15 seasons in the Big Apple, Ewing became the franchises all-time leader in points, rebounds. and blocks, and his No. 33 jersey hangs proudly in the rafters of Madison Square Garden.
This past season, the Knicks finished with the ninth-worst record in the NBA, giving them only a 6.1 percent chance at a top-three selection, and just a 1.7 percent shot at the number one pick.
Odds are, the New York Knicks won’t move anywhere in the upcoming lottery, ending up with the ninth pick.
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However, if past lotteries have shown us anything, it’s that the ping-pong balls have a way of making things interesting.