This time Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox can’t hit jackpot in NBA Draft lottery
The NBA Draft Lottery has been good to the Kings in recent years. They moved up to secure top-five picks in 2017 and 2018, but this year there was no such luck for Sacramento.
Team representative De’Aaron Fox sat expressionless during a virtual lottery presentation as the Kings were awarded the No. 12 pick in the 2020 draft, which is currently scheduled for Oct. 16. The Kings did not move up or down in the lottery, finishing as expected based on lottery odds.
The Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves all entered the lottery with a 14% chance of getting the No. 1 pick. The Atlanta Hawks had a 12.5% chance. The Kings had a 1.3% chance.
When all the envelopes were opened, the Timberwolves had the No. 1 pick, the Warriors received the No. 2 pick, the Charlotte Hornets jumped five spots to grab the No. 3 pick, the Chicago Bulls climbed two spots for the No. 4 pick and the Cavaliers received the No. 5 pick.
The next five draft positions went to the Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Knicks, Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns. The last four lottery picks were awarded to the San Antonio Spurs, Kings, New Orleans Pelicans and Boston Celtics.
The Kings won a tiebreaker with the Pelicans for the 12th position in the lottery. They had an 86.1% chance of drawing the No. 12 pick under this year’s lottery system.
The Kings didn’t own their lottery pick in 2019 due to the infamous 2015 trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, but they had good fortune in the two previous lotteries, vaulting into the top three for the first time since 1991.
The Kings entered the lottery in the eighth position when former coach Dave Joerger represented them in 2017. They moved up for just the second time in the lottery era to land the No. 3 pick. That pick went to the 76ers as part of the trade that sent Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, the 2019 first-round pick and the right to swap first-round picks in 2016 and 2017 to the 76ers in exchange for cap space. The Kings received the No. 5 pick from Philadelphia and used it to select Fox from Kentucky, giving the franchise the cornerstone they’re trying to build around now.
The Kings sent Fox to represent them in the lottery following his rookie season in 2018. They were slotted seventh with a 57.3% chance of remaining there, but the Kings vaulted all the way up to No. 2, where they selected Marvin Bagley III in a loaded draft that featured Deandre Ayton, Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr., Trae Young and a number of other promising young players.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 6:18 PM with the headline "This time Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox can’t hit jackpot in NBA Draft lottery."
