Most Shocking NBA Lottery shakeups of all-time

Basketball: NBA Draft Lottery: NBA Commissioner David Stern holding up the envelope with the number one pick in the draft at Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Number one pick goes to the New York Knicks.New York, NY 5/12/1985CREDIT: George Tiedemann (Photo by George Tiedemann /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)(Set Number: X31488 TK1 R1 F8 ) /

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14 JAN 1994: CENTER ALONZO MOURNING OF THE CHARLOTTE HORNETS CELEBRATES DURING A GAME AGAINST THE LAKERS AT TEH GREAT WESTERN FORUM IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello/ALLSPORT /

25. Charlotte Gets Lucky Twice In a Row (1991, 1992)

The Charlotte Hornets entered the 1991 NBA Lottery with the fifth worst odds out of every team in the NBA as they went 26-56 in the previous year. That gave them only seven chances out off 66 at getting the No. 1 overall pick. However, that was enough for everything to fall in their favor as the Hornets ended up with the No. 1 overall pick.

Charlotte used that pick to select Larry Johnson out of UNLV, a sure-fire pick that was the only sensible choice in that position. However, Johnson didn’t improve the Hornets but by six wins, which put them back in the lottery the next year. Subsequently, the Hornets got lucky once again.

Though the Hornets didn’t get the No. 1 overall pick in back-to-back years, they did leapfrog every other team in the NBA Lottery besides the Orlando Magic and wind up with the No. 2 overall pick.

After another turn of fortune, the Hornets were then able to select big man Alonzo Mourning out of Georgetown, another can’t-miss prospect. While Mourning and Johnson both didn’t last nearly as long as Charlotte would’ve liked, their fortunes in consecutive lotteries was certainly a wild way for things to play out.

Next: No. 24 Nets Get No. 1 In an Awful Draft

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