NBA Lottery Odds 2012: Anthony Davis Destined to Become No. 1 Pick

The NBA lottery may be a guessing game with each team having a certain fraction chance to obtain the No. 1 pick, but there's no guessing game about who will go first. Kentucky's Anthony Davis should and will be the first name off the board come NBA draft time, regardless of which team picks first.

If for some reason you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe what ESPN draft insider Chad Ford told USA Today's Adi Joseph in an email. Ford told Joseph that he's been told by executives from all 13 lottery-eligible teams that they would take Davis if their team were to receive the No. 1 pick.

Davis averaged a double-double in rebounds and points during his one season with the 2012 NCAA champions. The big man also posted a solid 62 percent field goal percentage in his freshman year with the team.

The Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis believes that Davis is so highly coveted due to a certain safety factor, writing in a recent column: "While Davis has a high ceiling, the fact that his floor is higher than other prospects' is a reason he is considered the top player in the draft by a wide margin."

Many believe that the Charlotte Bobcats will end up with the 2012 NBA draft's first pick due to their 25 percent chance at being picked, and you know their dreaming of having last year's seventh overall draft pick Bismack Biyombo and the Kentucky standout on the court at the same time.

The Washington Wizards (who seem to win the first pick every time I use ESPN's mock draft randomizer) would love to put Davis in one of their spiffy red, white and blue uniforms and add his talents to that of John Wall and Nene.

The former Wildcat is what every team in the draft is looking for: he brings a high level of potential but also the ability to step in and contribute right away for a franchise.

Each team eligible for the lottery wants a player they can build their next 10 seasons around, but also a name they can sell to fans to come to the arena while the squad develops, and that's what you get with Davis.

NBA senior director of scouting operations Ryan Blake told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer: "He’s able to make other players better with his presence. He’s focused on winning and he gets the job done. That just doesn’t come along every draft. You have to take that person when he’s there.’’

When the NBA's head of scouting has such high praise for a player like Davis and Ford is hearing that literally every team wants to draft him, that means the league is about to see a very special player join its ranks.

more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/28/3274097/kentuckys-anthony-davis-the-prize.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/28/3274097/kentuckys-anthony-davis-the-prize.html#storylink=cpy