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Everyone dreams of winning the lottery. The Los Angeles Clippers got to live it on Monday night.
With a 17.7 percent chance of securing the top pick in the June 25 NBA draft, Los Angeles moved from the third-best chance to winning and earned the right to select Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin.
"I'm going to come in and learn as much as I can on the fly and hopefully help the team as much as I can," Griffin said, not specifically talking about the Clippers.
The second pick went to the Memphis Grizzlies, who moved up from sixth, while the Oklahoma City Thunder will select third, moving up from fourth.
The big loser in the lottery was the Sacramento Kings. With the best odds to get the top pick, they slipped to No. 4. Not since 2004 when the Orlando Magic selected Dwight Howard has the team with the most ping pong balls received the top pick.
Griffin led the nation with 30 double-doubles and 14.4 rebounds per game while averaging a Big 12-best 22.7 points. In the NCAA tournament, he was even better -- averaging 28.5 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Sooners to the regional finals, where they lost to eventual national champion North Carolina.
The Clippers last had the No. 1 pick in 1998 and, perhaps predictably, blew it, taking eventual bust Michael Olowokandi.
Clippers president Andy Roeser, who represented the team on the podium, wouldn't confirm that they will choose Griffin.
"I think five years from now Blake Griffin will be hitting his stride in the NBA and he will be an impact player wherever he is," Roeser said. "He is an athletic player. He can do all sorts of things and has a ton of talent, and I think any team will be happy to have him."
The only issue with the Clippers securing the top pick is that they have power forward Zach Randolph who has a contract that will be difficult to move.
Other players who will likely be drafted in the top 10 are Spain point guard Ricky Rubio, UConn center Hasheem Thabeet, Arizona State guard James Harden and Arizona power forward Jordan Hill.
The lottery held to form for picks Nos. 14 to seven. The Golden State Warriors received the seventh pick, the New York Knicks No. 8, the Toronto Raptors No. 9, the Milwaukee Bucks No. 10, the New Jersey Nets No. 11, the Charlotte Bobcats No. 12, the Indiana Pacers No. 13 and the Phoenix Suns No. 14.
The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped a spot to No. 6, the Washington Wizards fell from second to fifth.
The Clippers also picked first in 1988, drafting Danny Manning. This was their 20th appearance in the draft lottery, which is supposed to help bad teams get better quickly. They can only hope that will finally be the case this time.
The lottery had much bigger buzz in the past two years because there were two players who seemed worthy of going No. 1. Portland went for Greg Oden over Kevin Durant in 2007, and the Chicago Bulls moved up to get Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose last season, with Michael Beasley going second to Miami.
The lottery determines the top three picks, with the rest of the first round going by inverse order of a team's record. It began in 1985, when the New York Knicks selected Patrick Ewing.
With a 17.7 percent chance of securing the top pick in the June 25 NBA draft, Los Angeles moved from the third-best chance to winning and earned the right to select Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin.
"I'm going to come in and learn as much as I can on the fly and hopefully help the team as much as I can," Griffin said, not specifically talking about the Clippers.
The second pick went to the Memphis Grizzlies, who moved up from sixth, while the Oklahoma City Thunder will select third, moving up from fourth.
The big loser in the lottery was the Sacramento Kings. With the best odds to get the top pick, they slipped to No. 4. Not since 2004 when the Orlando Magic selected Dwight Howard has the team with the most ping pong balls received the top pick.
Griffin led the nation with 30 double-doubles and 14.4 rebounds per game while averaging a Big 12-best 22.7 points. In the NCAA tournament, he was even better -- averaging 28.5 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Sooners to the regional finals, where they lost to eventual national champion North Carolina.
The Clippers last had the No. 1 pick in 1998 and, perhaps predictably, blew it, taking eventual bust Michael Olowokandi.
Clippers president Andy Roeser, who represented the team on the podium, wouldn't confirm that they will choose Griffin.
"I think five years from now Blake Griffin will be hitting his stride in the NBA and he will be an impact player wherever he is," Roeser said. "He is an athletic player. He can do all sorts of things and has a ton of talent, and I think any team will be happy to have him."
The only issue with the Clippers securing the top pick is that they have power forward Zach Randolph who has a contract that will be difficult to move.
Other players who will likely be drafted in the top 10 are Spain point guard Ricky Rubio, UConn center Hasheem Thabeet, Arizona State guard James Harden and Arizona power forward Jordan Hill.
The lottery held to form for picks Nos. 14 to seven. The Golden State Warriors received the seventh pick, the New York Knicks No. 8, the Toronto Raptors No. 9, the Milwaukee Bucks No. 10, the New Jersey Nets No. 11, the Charlotte Bobcats No. 12, the Indiana Pacers No. 13 and the Phoenix Suns No. 14.
The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped a spot to No. 6, the Washington Wizards fell from second to fifth.
The Clippers also picked first in 1988, drafting Danny Manning. This was their 20th appearance in the draft lottery, which is supposed to help bad teams get better quickly. They can only hope that will finally be the case this time.
The lottery had much bigger buzz in the past two years because there were two players who seemed worthy of going No. 1. Portland went for Greg Oden over Kevin Durant in 2007, and the Chicago Bulls moved up to get Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose last season, with Michael Beasley going second to Miami.
The lottery determines the top three picks, with the rest of the first round going by inverse order of a team's record. It began in 1985, when the New York Knicks selected Patrick Ewing.
