CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 2023 NBA Draft Lottery was held Tuesday night and the San Antonio Spurs have won the sweepstakes to draft generational prospect Victor Wembanyama out of France.
After a long year of losing that left the Spurs with a 22-60 record, San Antonio fans can rejoice after winning the draft lottery. Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets were drawn the second pick in the draft.
Charlotte entered the draft with a 12.5% chance to grab the top pick, as opposed to the Spurs who had a 14% chance along with the Houston Rockets, who got the fourth pick, and the Detroit Pistons, who got the fifth pick. It's a disappointing result for Detroit, who finished the year with the NBA's worst record at 17-65.
The Hornets will now have the choice of any player besides Wembanyama. Alabama guard Brandon Miller and NBA G-League star Scoot Henderson seem to be the top choices for Charlotte to choose from.
Charlotte finished the 2022 season 27-55 in a year mired by injuries, player arrests, and a new coach who actually used to coach the team. The team has delt with rumors of Michael Jordan considering a majority stake sale of the team in the offseason.
Regardless, the Hornets are pushing forward and looking to rebound in 2023-24. Charlotte has missed the playoffs for an NBA-leading seven-straight seasons.
This is the fourth time in Hornets history that the team has held the second overall pick. Charlotte selected Alonzo Manning (1992), Emeka Okafor (2004), and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012) the three previous times they had the pick.
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