The Orlando Magic wo the the lottery and the right to the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on Tuesday night held in Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center.
Despite having a disastrously bad season the Magic received their fourth No. 1 pick since 2004 when they drafted Dwight Howard. The Magic had the second-worst record in the league last season, going 22-60 as they missed the playoffs for the second straight season. They Magic had a 14% chance of winning after finishing with one of the three worst records in the NBA, along with the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons.
“The fans, the organization, it’s so exciting,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “There’s so much to look forward to. It’s going to be special.”
President of Orlando Magic Jeff Weltman expressed his excitement that the organization will have the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft after winning the selection in the lottery in Chicago, Illinois.
Weltman believes that there are “a lot of elite level prospects” at the top of the draft, and the team will do its due diligence.
“I do feel that as these top prospects start to make the rounds, teams will start to fall in love with guys, which is what generally happens,” Weltman said. “And generally leverage will kind of unfold from there, but I know we’ll have a lot of interesting discussions with teams. Obviously we don’t go into this thing looking to trade our pick.
“We look to add a really talented, young, high-character guy to our talent base and our roster. I have no expectations on it. Obviously, we’ll continue to do our work. This really doesn’t change much of the way that we’ll approach the draft. We’re just really excited to be able to fall in love with somebody and pick that player.”
Orlando previously won the lottery in back to back years in 1992 when it selected Shaquille O’Neal. They drafted Chris Webber the following year but traded his rights to the Golden State Warriors for Penny Hardaway and three first round picks. the impact of winning figures to have lasting effects on the team.
“It means we get to choose who we feel is the best fit for our team and who we feel will have the biggest long-range impact,” Weltman said. “Obviously, with that will come a lot of conversations. It will be interesting to see some of the calls that come up but mostly it means that we get to familiarize ourselves now with the elite prospects that we can add to our team.”
THERE’S A SPIRIT IN ORLANDO @SixthManShow 🤝 @MichelobULTRA pic.twitter.com/g3Ihqfs7Io
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) May 18, 2022
2022 NBA Draft Lottery Results
| 1. Orlando Magic |
| 2. Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 3. Houston Rockets |
| 4. Sacramento Kings |
| 5. Detroit Pistons |
| 6. Indiana Pacers |
| 7. Portland Trail Blazers |
| 8. New Orleans Pelicans (via Lakers) |
| 9. San Antonio Spurs |
| 10. Washington Wizards |
| 11. New York Knicks |
| 12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Clippers) |
| 13. Charlotte Hornets |
| 14. Cleveland Cavaliers |
