San Antonio Spurs land the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft

San Antonio Spurs land the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft

As a result of the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, the San Antonio Spurs have landed the No. 1 pick and will be in position to select Victor Wembanyama. This marks the third time in franchise history that the Spurs owned the No. 1 pick, the other two being in 1987 and 1997, when they selected David Robinson and Tim Duncan — both Hall of Famers — respectively.

The Spurs — similar to the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets — had a 14 percent chance to land the No. 1 pick heading into the draft. The Rockets ended up being the No. 4 pick, while the Pistons, who had the NBA’s worst record this season, placed outside the top-4 at No. 5, the worst possible spot they could’ve landed mathematically heading into the draft.

Let’s reveal the full lottery order, relative to the odds they landed the pick they’re at:

1. San Antonio Spurs (14.0 percent)
2. Charlotte Hornets (12.2 percent)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (10.6 percent)
4. Houston Rockets (12.0 percent)
5. Detroit Pistons (47.9 percent)
6. Orlando Magic (8.6 percent)
7. Indiana Pacers (19.7 percent)
8. Washington Wizards (32.9 percent)
9. Utah Jazz (50.7 percent)
10. Dallas Mavericks (65.9 percent)
11. Orlando Magic (77.6 percent)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (85.2 percent)
13. Toronto Raptors (92.9 percent)
14. New Orleans Pelicans (97.6 percent)

This is a franchise-altering move for San Antonio, like it would have been for every other team if they secured the top selection. Wembanyama is as good of a prospect as most of us have seen in our lifetime and projects to be a very good NBA Player.

Similarly to Robinson and Duncan, the Spurs — should they keep the pick, obviously — will have a frontcourt centerpiece to build around for the foreseeable future. They were the only team below the salary floor this season, and can now pen(cil) in Wembanyama alongside Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan, among others, for the foreseeable future.

Also, congrats to our resident Spurs fan Chickster!!!

This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for details.

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