Celtics capture No. 1 pick in NBA Draft Lottery, Lakers land No. 2

By Andre Vergara
Published

The Boston Celtics captured the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night, with the Los Angeles Lakers securing the second selection and the Philadelphia 76ers landing the third pick.

The Phoenix Suns, who finished with the second-worst record during the regular season, fell out of the top three and will draft at No. 4.

The Lakers, who had the third-worst record, entered the lottery needing a top-three pick or their first-rounder would have gone to Philadelphia, and their 2019 first-rounder to Orlando. Instead the Lakers will send the Magic second-round picks this year and next.

"When (Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum) called out No. 4 and he said it wasn't us, I said `Um, that's it, that's all I care about,'" said Johnson, the Hall of Famer in his first year as Lakers president. "I didn't know where we were going to land from there, but I was like `OK, I can breathe now.'"

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The Celtics, who swapped first-round picks with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2013 Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce trade, had the best chance of winning the lottery: 25 percent. They were among seven teams that had never won it.

"Game last night, Game 7, a tough Washington team. Game tomorrow against a tough Cleveland team. And now we squeeze in the lottery and win the pick. I don't know what's happening here. It's pretty amazing," said Wyc Grousbeck, a Celtics owner who represented them on stage.

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The Sacramento Kings secured both the fifth selection and the New Orleans Pelicans' pick, No. 10 overall, as part of the Buddy Hield trade since it did not fall in the top three. The Kings could've had the third pick but they swapped selections with the 76ers in a 2015 trade.

The rest of the lottery order:

6. Orlando Magic

7. Minnesota Timberwolves

8. New York Knicks

9. Dallas Mavericks

10. Sacramento Kings

11. Charlotte Hornets

12. Detroit Pistons

13. Denver Nuggets

14. Miami Heat

A pair of Pac-12 point guards, Washington's Markelle Fultz and UCLA's Lonzo Ball, are projected to be among the top picks. Ball, a Southern California native, has said he hopes to be drafted by the Lakers.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.