Most Shocking NBA Lottery shakeups of all-time

9. Grizzlies Forced to Trade Steve Francis (1999)

Steve Francis was viewed as one of the best prospects in the 1999 NBA Draft in a quietly high-quality draft class. Though Elton Brand was pretty obviously the No. 1 pick, Francis wasn’t far behind and it wasn’t a shock that the then Vancouver Grizzlies elected to take him with the No. 2 overall pick. What was shocking, though, was the saga that followed him being taken second overall.

Right after being drafted, Francis was vocal about not wanting to join the Grizzlies for a litany of reason. He was quite frank and insulting with his reasoning and had already upset the city of Vancouver before anything else. Though it almost looked like the two parties might reconcile in the end, Francis ultimately forced the organization to trade him in a monstrous 11-player deal that sent him to the Houston Rockets.

Though there have been players who haven’t wanted to go where they were drafted (Kobe Bryant, anyone), Francis was by far one of the highest picks to ever force his way out of a team and easily one of the most public in doing so. It was a shocking thing to see out of the NBA Lottery.

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