Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham. Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Pistons are cursed when it comes to the NBA Draft Lottery

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 5/13/24

The basketball gods have decided to not reward the Pistons for all their tanking.

Last year, the Pistons became the first team in NBA history to finish with the worst record in the league only to get the fifth overall pick (despite having more than a 50 percent chance to finish in the top three).

A year later, the Pistons were back in the same position: worst record in the league with a 14 percent chance to secure the No. 1 overall pick and excellent odds to receive at least a top-three selection.

In what can be deemed a cruel joke, the Pistons received the fifth pick for the second year in a row.

No team had EVER dropped from 1 to 5 in the history of the NBA Draft Lottery…

It’s now happened to the Detroit Pistons TWO years in a row.

Incredible.
— Ryan Field (@RyanFieldABC) May 12, 2024

The Hawks, meanwhile, had just a 3 percent chance to win the lottery — the fifth-lowest odds since the format started in 1985. And of course, they leapfrogged the Pistons and eight other teams to receive the No. 1 overall pick. The improbable outcome gave the Hawks their first No. 1 pick since 1975.

The draft lottery result caps off the worst two-year stretch in the history of the Pistons franchise, in which the team amassed a combined record of 31-133. The Monty Williams-led team reached a new low this past season by losing 27 games in a row to set an unfavorable NBA record.

With many deeming the 2024 draft class the "worst ever," the odds of the Pistons finding a game-changer with the No. 5 overall pick are as good as their fortunes of winning the lottery.

Unless the Pistons make drastic roster changes this offseason, they are primed to win fewer than 20 games for a third consecutive year.

Perhaps the basketball gods will finally show them mercy. Next year's class will be headlined by Cooper Flagg, a prodigious talent many teams could be incentivized to tank for.

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