Wizards win lottery, claim first pick
Following a season were not much went right for the Washington Wizards, Tuesday night was a welcome change as the Wizards defied the odds to win the first pick in the NBA draft.
Moving up from fifth place to first, the Wizards had just a 10.3% chance of claiming the top prize, but that’s all they needed as they beat out the Philadelphia 76ers (second) and the New Jersey Nets (third) to first place.
With Abe Pollin, the team’s owner, passing away early in the season it was his widow, Irene, who had the honour of representing the franchise at the draw. Wearing his 1978 Washington Bullets championship ring, Irene Pollin dropped her jaw as the Wizards were announced the winners of the lottery.
"This is very, very special. I have been in this my entire adult life and to be here, representing my husband, this is very special to me tonight. I think it's the culmination of my husband's dream because he wanted another ring and maybe this will get us another ring,” Mrs Pollin said.
The Wizards now will have the opportunity to choose between John Wall, the consensus No.1 pick, and Evan Turner, the best player in college basketball last year. Picking first must be relief for the Wizards’ fans who have endured a disastrous season, marred by the Gilbert Arenas gun in the locker-room fiasco, which led to the player being suspended for more than half the season.
With the Pollin family being close to selling the franchise to Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, winning the NBA lottery could be one of the last acts the Pollin family undertakes for the Wizards and, with the sale expected to be complete in early June, Leonsis was delighted with the No.1 pick.
"We have a lot of work to do with the franchise. The players, the culture, the expectations, the discipline around the team, but I do think it is a breath of fresh air and does revive the franchise and gives us a shot to be an exciting team with a lot of expectations.
“I know how hard it is to rebuild a team. I am going to be patient but I have a strong belief that our management team and ownership team is very focused,” Leonsis said.
The draft takes place on June 24th in New York giving the Wizards and soon to be new owner time to decide who they will pick as their franchise-changing player.
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