- The San Antonio Spurs have the rights to the No. 1 overall pick after winning the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery.
- On Tuesday night, San Antonio was one of three teams with a league-best 14% chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery.
- The results immediately impacted the Spurs’ 2023-24 NBA Championship odds for next season.
The San Antonio Spurs won the most important NBA Draft Lottery in years. As the winners of the lottery, the Spurs own the rights to the first overall pick at the 2023 NBA Draft in June. It is widely believed that the Spurs will use their selection to draft center Victor Wembanyama.
Currently, Wembanyama has -10000 odds of the Spurs selecting Wembanyama at BetOnline. It should probably be higher. Unless Wembanyama suffers a freak injury that prevents him from playing basketball, the native of Nanterre, France, is going to San Antonio.
The Spurs got to this point by having one of the worst campaigns in the NBA last year. They struggled to be competitive and finished with a record of 22-60. However, that was not the worst record in the league.
The Detroit Pistons finished the 2022-23 season with the worst record at 17-65. While the Spurs were the luckiest team in the NBA at the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, the Pistons had the worst luck. Despite having the same lottery odds as the Spurs, Detroit owns the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The 2023 #NBADraftLottery presented by State Farm saw the @spurs get the #1 pick! See how the rest of the lottery shook out 👀
Don't miss the 2023 #NBADraft presented by State Farm on June 22nd at 8pm/et on ESPN! pic.twitter.com/9jQbQ7OmIt
— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) May 17, 2023
Spurs’ NBA Title Odds Shift From Horrible To Bad
The fact that a 19-year-old rookie, without playing a game yet, can have such an impact on NBA title is pretty remarkable.
There is reason for Spurs fans to celebrate after winning the NBA Draft Lottery. However, this doesn’t mean that the Spurs are going to contend for a spot in the NBA Finals in just one year.
The future is incredibly bright for the Spurs, but they are still huge long shots to win a title in the 2023-24 season. Prior to winning the NBA Draft Lottery, the Spurs had +50000 odds of winning the 2023-24 NBA Championship.
They were tied with the Rockets and the Pistons for the worst odds. Minutes after it was announced that the Spurs won the No. 1 overall pick, their NBA title odds shortened to +25000. In other words, the Spurs went from having horrible odds to bad odds.
Nevertheless, over the next few years, their odds should accelerate as the Spurs build around Wembanyama.
Wembanyama has the talent to do everything exceptionally well on the floor. From shooting the three, penetrating the lane, cleaning up the boards, to backing down in the post, there is little that the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama can’t do.
There aren’t many players in the world that can be compared to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Wembanyama has that innate ability, where if he develops properly, will be mentioned among the greats in NBA history.
"This is the most highly-anticipated player to ever enter the NBA. … Maybe the greatest prospect in the history of team sports."
—@wojespn on Victor Wembanyama 😳 (via NBA Today) pic.twitter.com/LNuOG2RdHR
— ESPN (@espn) May 16, 2023
David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Now Victor Wembanyama?
Gregg Popovich has a stellar track record of developing centers in the NBA. In 2009, Robinson entered the NBA Hall of Fame after a successful career spanning from 1989 to 2003.
In his rookie season, “The Admiral” recorded 24.3 points per game on 53.1% shooting from the field. He also grabbed 12 rebounds per game to kick off a Hall of Fame career.
11 years later, another Spurs center was enshrined in the NBA Hall of Fame. Tim Duncan played from 1997 to 2016 with the Spurs. He started off his career fairly similar to Robinson.
Duncan averaged 21.1 points per game on 54.9% shooting and pulled down more than 10 rebounds per game. Between Robinson and Duncan, the two centers combined for seven NBA rings, with Duncan responsible for five.
The 74-year-old Popovich doesn’t have much time left in his career. Whether drafting Wembanyama extends his coaching career or not remains to be seen. However, this looks like an opportunity for Popovich to develop one last center before retiring.
Certainly, Wembanyama landed in the best situation possible in San Antonio. While Popovich won’t be with him for the duration of his career, the things Popovich teaches him now will be invaluable in the future.
Gregg Popovich will coach David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Victor Wembanyama across 5 different decades. pic.twitter.com/8PtycYO8FW
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 17, 2023
What Will The Charlotte Hornets Do With No. 2 Overall Pick?
There is no controversy about who is going off the board first. Wembanyama can start preparing for life in San Antonio. However, what happens following the Spurs’ pick isn’t abundantly clear.
The Hornets didn’t win the NBA Draft Lottery, but did better than their odds suggested. Neither the Rockets nor the Pistons were able to win the consolation prize.
There are two options for the Hornets on the board: Alabama’s Brandon Miller and the G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson. If Miller didn’t have the off-court issues, this might be easier than it appears under these conditions.
The Hornets already have a talented point guard with LaMelo Ball. That would point the Hornets toward Miller regardless of his legal issues. We will have to wait and see how it all unfolds on June 22, 2023.
