The speculation regarding the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery is over. The New York Knicks had the 11th-best lottery odds entering the evening and that resulted in the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
New York had a 77.6% chance to end up at No. 11 and those odds ended up being too much for the organization to sneak into the top four.
The Knicks have only had three top four picks since the NBA lottery system was introduced in 1985. New York got lucky that year with the No. 1 pick, which was Knicks legend Patrick Ewing.
Now the Knicks are right outside of the top 10 and won’t have a shot at players like Jabari Smith Jr., Jaden Ivey, and Paolo Banchero. But that doesn’t mean that New York won’t be able to draft a talented player at No. 11.
There are the Knicks fans who are realists and those who got their hopes up a bit too high about this year’s draft lottery, but now that it’s over, it’s time to start thinking about who the team could draft on June 23.
The New York Knicks will have the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
In the numerous mock drafts that have already been floating around, New York’s been most linked to Arizona Wildcats’ six-foot-six guard Bennedict Mathurin. No, the Knicks don’t have a top four pick, but they’ll have the opportunity to draft another talented player from Canada.
In The Ringer’s mock draft, New York opts for Memphis Tigers’ six-foot-eleven center Jalen Duren. If the Knicks and Mitchell Robinson don’t agree to a contract extension by the end of June, the starting center will become an unrestricted free agent.
Let’s say that ends up being the case because that’d made the possible addition of Duren that much more important.
Or there’s even the chance that New York might not end up picking No. 11 at all. If the Knicks make a trade between now and the draft in June, that pick could go to a team like the Utah Jazz.
All in all, New York won’t be making a top four pick. The draft lottery continues to be unkind to the Knicks organization, but at least they didn’t move back from No. 11.
Incredibly, almost impossibly, the Knicks have lost more games than any team in the NBA this century, but have never had the No. 1 overall pick. Or the No. 2 overall pick. They’ve had a top-3 pick just once
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) May 18, 2022
William Wesley, you tried your best. The hope for next year should be that New York won’t even have to worry about the draft lottery. We can dream!
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