Magic Bringing 'Lil' Penny' Doll to 2018 NBA Draft Lottery for Good Luck
The Orlando Magic are doing everything they can to leave Tuesday's NBA draft lottery with the No. 1 overall pick in hand.
Magic co-founder Pat Williams will make sure he has a good-luck charm with him in Chicago: a Lil' Penny doll.
Lil' Penny, for reference, is a miniature doll of former Magic player Penny Hardaway, who played six seasons with the franchise from 1993 to 1999.
"We put the finest minds we've got on this one, and this is what they came up with," Williams jokingly told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. "I'll keep that very, very, very close. We don't want anybody running off with that, so I'll have that in my possession the entire evening.
"It's our version of a lucky penny. We've tried everything in the past: lucky coins, four-leaf clovers, rabbit's feet, Lucky Charms cereal. We've taken everything up there."
Orlando is hardly the only team in recent years to make sure a good-luck charm is present at the lottery. The Cleveland Cavaliers (owner's son Nick Gilbert) and the Los Angeles Clippers (medallion) are among the organizations trying to swing the odds in their favor.
According to NBA.com, Orlando (8.8 percent) has the fifth-best odds to land the first overall pick. The team also has a 29.1 percent chance of picking in the top three.
The Magic have held the No. 1 overall pick three times since joining the league in 1989, most recently selecting Dwight Howard in 2004.
