2012 NBA Draft Order: Biggest Winners and Losers in Draft Lottery

The 2012 NBA draft lottery took place Wednesday night, and it was a doozy.

A number of teams have a lot to look forward to, while others will be understandably sulking over the next month and have little to look forward to in the draft now that the ping-pong balls did not bounce their way.

Let’s take a look at which franchises had the best night and which had the worst.

Winners

New Orleans Hornets

NOLA is having quite the offseason. It snagged a new owner and now has the No. 1 pick in the draft with the closest thing to a guaranteed superstar in Anthony Davis.

The Hornets beat the odds (their first-rounder had just a 13.7 chance of turning up No. 1) and could not have asked for a better lottery. 

Golden State Warriors

If the Warriors had gotten unlucky and fell to No. 8 or below, they would have had to send their pick to the Utah Jazz. They are fortunate because the timing could not have been worse for the franchise to lose a lottery pick.

Golden State is attempting to rebuild its franchise around Stephen Curry (who is hopefully healthy next season), Andrew Bogut and young players with a new commitment to defense.

The Warriors can now handpick a talented prospect tailored around their needs and hopefully will find themselves far removed from the lottery next year.

Losers

Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats were clearly the biggest loser last night. The No. 2 pick in the draft is the cherry on top of the worst season in NBA history. 

It wouldn’t surprise me to see this franchise sold or contracted in the next couple of years, as the Bobcats cannot catch and break and do not seem like they will ever be relevant.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets were praying that they would luck out and get the top pick, even a top-three pick. Instead, it came up at No. 6 and now goes to the Portland Trail Blazers.

That finalized what may have been one of the worst trades in history—Gerald Wallace for the No. 6 pick in a deep draft, Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams.

To make it even more ridiculous, Wallace is likely to become a free agent this summer and exercise his early-termination option.

Not to mention, Deron Williams is pretty much out the door by now, and the franchise will be rebuilding around Brook Lopez (who averaged 3.6 RPG last season).

2012 NBA Draft Order

No. 1 – New Orleans Hornets

No. 2 – Charlotte Bobcats

No. 3 – Washington Wizards

No. 4 – Cleveland Cavaliers

No. 5 – Sacramento Kings

No. 6 – Portland Trail Blazers (via Brooklyn Nets)

No. 7 – Golden State Warriors

No. 8 – Toronto Raptors

No. 9 – Detroit Pistons

No. 10 – New Orleans Hornets (from Minnesota Timberwolves via L.A. Clippers)

No. 11 – Portland Trail Blazers

No. 12 – Milwaukee Bucks

No. 13 – Phoenix Suns

No. 14 – Houston Rockets

No. 15 – Philadelphia 76ers

No. 16 – Houston Rockets

No. 17 – Dallas Mavericks

No. 18 – Minnesota Timberwolves (via Utah Jazz)

No. 19 – Orlando Magic

No. 20 – Denver Nuggets

No. 21 – Boston Celtics

No. 22 – Boston Celtics (from Los Angeles Clippers, via OKC Thunder)

No. 23 – Atlanta Hawks

No. 24 – Cleveland Cavaliers (via Los Angeles Lakers)

No. 25 – Memphis Grizzlies

No. 26 – Indiana Pacers

No. 27 – Miami Heat

No. 28 – Chicago Bulls

No. 29 – Oklahoma City Thunder

No. 30 – Golden State Warriors (via San Antonio Spurs)