Detroit Pistons Historically Poor NBA Lottery Luck Continues

The Detroit Pistons are in a league of their own when it comes to lack of success on the court in recent seasons. They have had the worst record in the NBA for two straight years and haven’t sniffed the NBA Play-In Tournament, let alone the postseason, in the last five years.

The only thing that may be worse than the Detroit Pistons’ performance on the court is their luck during the NBA Lottery. On Sunday, they entered the lottery tied for the highest odds along with the Charlotte Hornets to land the No. 1 overall pick. They had a 40.1 percent chance of landing a pick inside the top-3.

It was the same situation that the Pistons found themselves in last year and they fell to the No. 5 pick in the draft. The odds of that occurring a second straight year were very low, yet they have once again defied them.

Despite having the worst record in the NBA in the 2023-24 regular season and enduring a record 28-game losing streak, all the Detroit Pistons have to show for it is the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

As shared by James L. Edwards of The Athletic, this is the third consecutive year the Pistons will be selecting at No. 5 in the draft. After landing Cade Cunningham No. 1 in the 2021 NBA Draft, they selected Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson at No. 5 the last two years.