The Sacramento Kings are due some NBA Draft Lottery luck

Back in 1984, in order to prevent the clear tanking that had been taking place in recent years, the NBA Board of Governors voted to install a lottery-type draft selection to determine the order of draft positioning instead of simply reversing the order of the win/loss standings.

Sadly, the Kings have found themselves embroiled in the lottery odds discussion almost every season since that new rule was adopted. 32 years have passed since the change in policy and Sacramento has been directly affected by those changes 21 times. Taking it even further, outside of the very much missed 1999-2006 run, the Kings have been in the lottery for 21 of the 24 possible seasons.

One would think with over two decades of the chance to move back, stay put, or move up that the Kings would have a fair sprinkling of each throughout their history. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case.

Reading through the graphic, some things certainly jump out. First, in 21 long years of being involved in the lottery, the Kings have moved up exactly one time. In 1989 Sacramento jumped from the 6th spot all the way to 1st, selecting Pervis Ellison. Unfortunately, outside of that one lucky drawing, Sacramento hasn’t simply stayed neutral, but instead, they’ve moved back 9 of 21 possible years for a total loss of 16 draft positions.

In a more recent study, the Kings have been in the lottery for ten straight years. Six of those opportunities have seen them remain in their projected position, while in four of those years the ping pong balls saw us lose at least one position, including losing out on the first overall pick in 2009 (Blake Griffin) and sliding back to 4th, acquiring Tyreke Evans. After sliding back three positions in 2009, the Kings lost ground the following two years in a row, moving from 3rd to 5th in 2010 and from 5th to 7th in 2011, losing a total of seven draft spots in just three years.

To put it mildly, the Kings and their long-suffering fans are due some luck. We can’t win the lottery this year because of past foolish maneuvers, but even moving up and swapping back with Philadelphia would still be a win. The best case scenario is the 76ers gaining the first overall pick and Sacramento sliding just behind them with the second selection, and considering the lack of luck we’ve experienced over the past 32 years, that’s exactly what Kings fans deserve.

So what do you say basketball gods? Throw us a bone for once.