Secaucus, NJ (My Sportsbook) - The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Draft Lottery on Thursday and will receive the first pick of the upcoming draft. High school phenom LeBron James of nearby Akron is expected to be the top overall selection. The Memphis Grizzlies captured the second spot, while the Denver Nuggets will select third. Memphis is obligated to trade its pick to the Detroit Pistons as part of a 1997 deal involving Otis Thorpe. Toronto, Miami, the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago, Atlanta, New York and Washington round out the top 10. The Warriors, SuperSonics and the Grizzlies complete the order of selection for the top 13 picks of the first round. If James is the top player chosen, he would become just the second high school player to be taken with the first pick. The Wizards made Kwame Brown the top overall selection in the 2001 draft. Carmelo Anthony, who led Syracuse to the national championship this season as a freshman, is likely to be a top-three pick along with 17-year-old Darko Milicic of Serbia. The NBA Draft Lottery determines which team with the worst record in the regular season has the most chances for the No. 1 pick while the team with the best record among the non-playoff teams has the least number of chances. This marks the third time since the lottery began in 1985 the team with the worst record in the league has won it. The Cavs shared the worst mark this past season with Denver and joined the 1990 Nets (Derrick Coleman) and 1988 Clippers (Danny Manning) as lottery winners. |
