How the 2020 NBA Lottery changed the Minnesota Timberwolves future

The 2022 NBA Lottery is history. In its wake, there is an entirely different outlook for the team that managed to slot higher than their 2021-22 record may have indicated. But for the teams that slid down from their hoped-for draft order? Well, the climb back just got steeper and more protracted.

The Lottery is just the first checkpoint for a team seeking the chance to rebuild, and in the process, return to the NBA Playoffs. To do so, a team needs luck to win a top pick. But perhaps more importantly, the skill to know what to do with whatever pick falls the team’s way.

Here are the results of the 2022 NBA Draft lottery’s Top-Four teams.

The Thunder lucked into the second pick of the draft. So much for hexes, eh?

Here are the full NBA Lottery results:

2022 NBA Draft Lottery results

Pick Team
1.      Magic
2.      Thunder
3.      Rockets
4.      Kings
5.      Pistons
6.      Pacers
7.      Trail Blazers
8.      Pelicans (from Lakers)
9.      Spurs
10.    Wizards
11.    Knicks
12.    Thunder (from Clippers)
13.    Hornets
14.    Cavaliers

The Magic may look back at this moment as a point when their franchise turned around. After all, a 14 percent chance at the first overall pick can make a significant difference to a team. Now, the real ‘work’ begins as the Orlando magic must sort through the top prospects in this draft. The challenge? No single player is a consensus number one. Sometimes that can work out in the team’s favor.

It did for the Timberwolves, and here’s how: