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Pistons get No.1 NBA draft pick in lottery

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The NBA draft lottery has been kind to the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors this year.
Camera IconThe NBA draft lottery has been kind to the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors this year. Credit: AP

The Detroit Pistons did a lot of losing this season, finishing with the second-worst record in the NBA and the franchise's worst record in nearly 30 years.

It paid off.

The Pistons won the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday night, grabbing the No.1 pick in the July 29 draft and presumably the chance to select Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham.

If the Pistons keep the pick, it'll be the first time they select first overall since taking Hall of Fame forward Bob Lanier in 1970.

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"It's going to mean a lot for this team," former Pistons forward and recently elected Hall of Famer Ben Wallace said on ESPN after the lottery.

"The team is headed in the right direction. We've got a group of young guys who come out and play hard on both ends of the floor. ... To add a No. 1 pick to that calibre of team, the sky should be the limit."

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Houston will pick second, Cleveland third and Toronto fourth.

Orlando will get the No.5 and No.8 selections, with Oklahoma City picking No.6 and Golden State also with two lottery slots - No. 7, as part of a trade with Minnesota, and the Warriors' own pick at No.14.

The rest of the lottery results: Sacramento pick No.9, New Orleans No.10, Charlotte No.11, San Antonio at No.12, and Indiana at No.13.

The lottery technically only determines the first four picks - with Toronto the biggest movers.

The rest of the lottery then default to a pre-established order of finish from the past season's standings.

The Rockets' second pick is one of the building blocks they can use to reload after finishing with the NBA's worst record this season.

The consensus opinion has been that the No.1 pick will be either a one-and-done college player - Cunningham, Southern California centre Evan Mosley or Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs - or someone from the G-League development program like guard Jalen Green or forward Jonathan Kuminga.

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