A few ping pong balls can change an entire franchise’s trajectory. Two weeks ago, that’s exactly what happened with the San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, and Portland Trail Blazers, who all saw their futures affected by some good lottery luck.
While they didn’t luck out completely and get a chance to grab Victor Wembanyama, the Blazers ascended two spots and landed the third pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Whether they keep it or not has since become an open question, but it’s worth appreciating how monumental of a coup this was for Portland.
The last time the Trail Blazers had a top three pick was 2007, when they won the lottery and selected Greg Oden over Kevin Durant.