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Full List of 2021 NBA Draft Lottery Team Representatives
June 21, 2021
The 14 teams that will be included in the 2021 NBA draft lottery have picked out their representatives they hope will bring them luck and the No. 1 overall pick.
On Monday, the league announced those who will be present for Tuesday's lottery:
Among the notable inclusions are Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon for the Houston Rockets, Hall of Famer Ben Wallace for the Detroit Pistons, multiple general managers and Anthony Edwards, who was the No. 1 overall pick of last year's draft, for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Olajuwon is the biggest name and will forever be associated with landing the No. 1 pick for the Rockets considering that is where they selected him in the 1984 draft.
All the big man did during his career was win two championships and build a resume that included two NBA Finals MVPs, a league MVP, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, 12 All-NBA selections, nine All-Defensive selections and 12 All-Star selections.
Houston was missing that type of presence this season on the way to an NBA-worst 17-55 record.
That record gives them an equal chance of landing the No. 1 pick or even finishing in the top four as the Detroit Pistons (20-52) and Orlando Magic (21-51). All three teams have a 14.0 percent chance of finishing with the No. 1 pick and a 52.1 percent chance of finishing with a top-four pick.
The prize for this year's lottery winner will likely be Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Cunningham as the No. 1 overall pick in his latest mock draft. Cunningham played one season with the Cowboys and was a consensus All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year behind 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
He is talented enough to help turn around whichever franchise gets that coveted top pick Tuesday.