Fansided

The end of the season — both collegiate and professional — is a milestone in every NBA Draft cycle. The lottery odds are set, but the ping pong balls have yet to dish out their brutal, unforgiving verdict. Every lottery team, 1-14, has felt a faint glimmer of hope. The kind of hope only a 7-foot-5 Frenchman hitting one-legged fadeaways can inspire. A diverse array of teams in different stages of development comprise this year’s lottery. Young teams like Orlando and Oklahoma City are a stone’s throw away from playoff basketball. Older teams like Washington and Portland desperately need to recalibrate. And then, of course, there are the committed bottom-dwellers, such as Houston and San Antonio. And, lest we forget, the abject disappointments — Dallas and Toronto. How the ping pong balls fall could determine the course of NBA history. This is a particularly talented draft class, especially at the top. While attention has understandably been focused on Victor Wembanyama, there are several potential stars and high-level contributors littered throughout the top 14.