Indiana Pacers: How often has the 5th best odds won the NBA lottery?

The Indiana Pacers head into the draft lottery with the 5th best odds at reaching the first overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft. There have been a number of teams in similar positions over the NBA’s long history.

It has been done before, but it won’t stop the Indiana Pacers franchise from sweating it out as the lottery creeps closer.

It has only been done five times in the history of the league, which the team with the fifth-best odds would go on to win the lottery and grab the first overall pick. The first time was in 1991 for the Charlotte Hornets and most recently it was in 2010 for the Washington Wizards.

• 1991 – Hornets
• 1995 – Warriors
• 2002 – Rockets
• 2006 – Raptors
• 2010 – Wizards

Charlotte would be the first team to win the lottery after having the fifth-best odds.

Larry Johnson would play his first five seasons in Charlotte where he would average 19 points a game and 9.2 rebounds in his time with the Hornets. He was then moved to the New York Knicks where he would also spend five seasons of his NBA career.

There was a drop-off after the trade was made as Larry averaged just 12 points a game and wouldn’t see another NBA game after his 10th season. Johnson was awesome in his rookie season, averaging 19.2 points in 37 minutes a game along with 11 rebounds and three assists.

Then in 1995, it would happen for the Golden State Warriors who had a 9.4% chance to win.

Joe spent three seasons with Golden State where he averaged 16.9 points a game in his first two seasons. His three-point shooting was poor, at just 29%, but he rebounded at a high level grabbing 8.6 as well. He would go on to make the all-rookie team.

Smith would play for 12 different NBA teams over the course of his 16-year career which he ended with the LA Lakers in 2010. He never spent more than five seasons with one team.

In 2002, the Houston Rockets bumped up to the 1st overall pick to select a familiar name.

Yao Ming is quite unforgettable when it comes to his NBA career. Starting it off by making the all-rookie team, but he wouldn’t stop there. He would go on to become an eight-time All-Star a be selected to the All-NBA team five times in his eight-year career.

The Hall of Famer averaged 19 points a game and 9.2 rebounds while shooting 53% from the field.

In 2006, the Toronto Raptors would move up with an 8.8% chance of doing so.

Bargnani didn’t do much else after being named all-rookie. He would spend seven seasons with the Raptors and averaged 15 points and 4 rebounds a game in his time with the Raptors.

His best season was the 2010-11 year where he would average 21 points a game but would not make an All-Star selection in his 10-year NBA career.

Most recently in 2010, the Washington Wizards would land the top pick with a 10.3% chance.

Wall has accomplished a lot in his NBA career thus far. He would spend nine seasons with the Wizards before being traded to the Houston Rockets. He would become an all-rookie and notch five all-star selections in that time as well as the all-defensive team in 2014-15 and all NBA in 2016-17.

Wall averaged 19 points a game and 9.2 assists in his nine seasons with Washington. Injuries have got the best of Wall and a contract situation that has him sitting out of the last season in Houston.

What now for the Pacers?

We wait.

The NBA draft lottery airs at 8:00 PM ET and then Indiana fans will anxiously await the team’s fate as the odds swing good or bad. The Indiana Pacers will be represented by Assistant General Manager Kelly Krauskopf, who has been with the franchise since 2019.

She won the lottery with the Indiana Fever when she was their General Manager which was the first pick the Fever ever made. The Indiana Pacers will hope for that same luck as they head into the lottery Tuesday evening.