The Athletic

The 2022 NBA Draft Lottery has come and gone, and we now know the order of picks Nos. 1-14 in June’s upcoming draft. On Tuesday night in Chicago, the Orlando Magic earned the right to select the No. 1 overall pick. The Magic weren’t the only team to come away winners, though as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets landed the No. 2 and No. 3 picks respectively. The Sacramento Kings snagged the No. 4 pick to potentially add a dynamic and explosive player to their roster. Why is it so important to land one of the top selections this year? According to The Athletic’s NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie, this draft is somewhat top-heavy. Vecenie called the 2022 NBA Draft “as unpredictable a draft as I can remember,” for a few reasons.