Ben Wallace has had a big year. First he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. Then, on Tuesday, he represented his former team, the Detroit Pistons, as they won the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery.
The Pistons picked first in a deep draft, followed by the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Toronto Raptors. The Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors (who get Minnesota’s pick), Magic again (via Chicago), Sacramento Kings, and New Orleans Pelicans round out the top 10. Detroit hasn’t had the top pick since 1970, and they haven’t had a top-5 pick since 2005, when they took Darko Milicic.
This is a huge deal for the Detroit Pistons and their fans, since they have been an awful franchise for a long time. Cade Cunningham from Oklahoma State is likely to be the top pick. Detroit needs to be careful that they don’t waste his talents. As for Houston, they finished with the worst record in the league after trading away James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. And the Cleveland Cavaliers might be a decent team in a few years.
Like always, we’ll see what happens!
