NBA Draft Lottery 2018: Winners and losers

By Ian Levy | May 15, 2018

SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 11: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings wears the Oscar Robertson Triple- Double Award belonging to Garrett Temple #17 prior to the game against the Houston Rockets on April 11, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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The Kings and Hawks moved up. The Mavericks and Grizzlies moved down. Who were the biggest winners and losers in the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery.

For the first time in franchise history, the Suns hold the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Phoenix had the best odds of landing on top heading into tonight’s draft lottery, but there some movement behind them. The Kings jumped up from the No. 7 slot to land the No. 2 pick. The Hawks jumped up from No. 4 to No. 3. Those moves pushed the Grizzlies and Mavericks out of the top three.

This was the last shuffling of opportunity before draft night and although we only had two teams move up and two move down, there were some clear winners and losers. Here’s how they break down.

Winner: De’Aaron Fox

The legend of De’Aaron Fox is built, in large part, on the beat down he gave Lonzo Ball last season and the subsequent tendency of Ball (and the rest of the league) to come down with an “injury” on the night when they were supposed to play Fox and the Kings.

#AfraidOfFox

✅ Lonzo Ball
✅ CP3
✅ Dennis Smith Jr
✅ Eric Bledsoe
✅ Anthony Davis
✅ ✅ Morrii
✅ Myles Turner
✅ Jon Leuer
✅ Markelle Fultz
✅ Joakim Noah
✅ Mike Muscala
✅ Al-Farouq Aminu
✅ Paul Millsap
✅ Patrick Beverley
— Greg (@gwiss) November 25, 2017

We can add another line to that list — picks No. 3 – 30 want no part of Fox. In all seriousness, the Kings made a huge leap and now have the potential to, at worst, land the second player on their draft board. If it winds up being Luka Doncic, Fox gets the benefit of running next to another skilled shot creator and off-ball scoring threat. If it’s a big man like DeAndre Ayton or Marvin Bagley, Fox gets a skilled offensive big man to help hold space in the halfcourt and make his job easier.

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