Two years ago, San Antonio won THE lottery and drafted Victor Wembanyama. Last season, the Spurs drafted fourth and took Stephon Castle out of UConn, who went on to win Rookie of the Year.

Unbelievably, Dallas experienced the ultimate lucky break of drawing the No. 1 pick and consensus top selection Cooper Flagg of Duke. This marked the first time in 17 draft lottery attempts that the Mavericks vaulted to a higher pick than the odds projected.

The NBA Draft lottery brought more drama than usual on May 12. For the first time in a long time, the Detroit Pistons weren’t involved in the lottery draft.