Which Victor Wembanyama outcome should Knicks fans root for at draft lottery?
The NBA Draft Lottery is finally here which means in a little over a month, the 2023 NBA Draft will be held at Barclays Center. Knicks fans aren’t eagerly waiting to learn where the team will pick in the draft because there’s a very high probability that New York won’t have a pick.
This year’s draft lottery holds more importance than years past thanks to 19-year-old French sensation Victor Wembanyama. The 2018-19 Zion Williamson sweepstakes haven’t held a candle to the 2022-23 race to the bottom for Wemby.
The Knicks might not have a horse in the Wembanyama race, but that doesn’t mean that fans shouldn’t pay attention to what unfolds on Tuesday night in Chicago. In fact, fans should be actively rooting against an Eastern Conference team, especially the Pistons, getting the No. 1 pick for several reasons.
Victor Wembanyama avoiding the Eastern Conference would be ideal for Knicks
According to Tankathon, here’s the full breakdown of the percentage that each team has of getting the No. 1 pick:
- Detroit – 14%
- Houston – 14%
- San Antonio – 14%
- Charlotte – 12.5%
- Portland – 10.5%
- Orlando – 9%
- Indiana – 6.8%
- Washington – 6.7%
- Utah – 4.5%
- Dallas – 3%
- Chicago – 1.8%
- Oklahoma City – 1.7%
- Toronto – 1%
- New Orleans – 0.5%
Out of the teams with the highest chance of drafting Victor Wembanyama, Knicks fans should hope that either San Antonio or Houston gets the No. 1 pick. Not only is Detroit in the East, but the Pistons selected Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 pick in 2021 and then walked away from draft night in 2022 with two lottery picks in Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren.
Charlotte, Orlando, Indiana, and Washington all hold the next highest percentages at landing Wembanyama in the Eastern Conference. The Magic selected Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 pick in 2022 and he was recently named the Rookie of the Year. Similar to Detroit, Orlando already has a couple of special young players. If Wembanyama does end up in the East, it wouldn’t be awful for him to go to the Hornets or Wizards because both teams struggle to run respectable organizations.
For Wemby’s sake, he should hope that he winds up with a competent and well-run organization like the Spurs. For the Knicks’ sake, keep Victor Wembanyama out of the Eastern Conference, please.
