Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Sports
Sports

Hornets Win NBA Lottery, Right To Select 1st In Draft

By | Published on May 30, 2012
CommentsComments (0) Add as a preferred source on Google i

Kentucky's Anthony Davis likely headed to New Orleans.

Let the conspiracy theorists begin.

The New Orleans Hornets, who recently went from being run by the NBA to sold to Saints owner Tom Benson, won Thursday night’s NBA Draft Lottery and the right to choose first on the June 28 draft.

Cynics will argue that this was a favor, a set up, just as many did and still do believe the first lottery in 1985 was rigged so the New York Knicks could get the rights to draft Patrick Ewing. The city of New Orleans is still reeling from Hurricane Katrina and ownership so shabby that the league took over its operations (and rescinded a Chris Paul-to-Los Angeles Lakers trade).

Whatever the case, the Hornets, who eventually dealt Paul to the L.A. Clippers, have the opportunity to select Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, the consensus top pick, with the No. 1 choice, if it keeps the pick.

New Orleans had a 13.7 percent chance to earn the pick, based on its record this season. The Charlotte Bobcats, owned by Michael Jordan, had the worst season in NBA history and had the highest odds of winning the first selection. The Bobcats came in second, however, with the Washington Wizards third. Cleveland fell one spot to fourth. Here is the remaining order of selections from the lottery:

5. Sacramento Kings

6. Portland Trail Blazers (via Brooklyn Nets)

7. Golden State Warriors

8. Toronto Raptors

9. Detroit Pistons

10. New Orleans Hornets (via Minnesota Timberwolves)

11. Portland Trail Blazers

12. Milwaukee Bucks

13. Phoenix Suns

14. Houston Rockets

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top