2008 NBA Draft Lottery

Tonight the NBA held its annually-televised Draft Lottery selection special from New Jersey. During the live event on ESPN, 14 lottery teams were represented by various personnel as the ping pong balls were drawn. Larry Bird was there for the Pacers, D-Wade for the Heat and a lucky season ticket holder represented for the Sacramento Kings. Rapper and business mogul Jay-Z was even on hand to represent the New Jersey Nets, the team he is a part owner of. Following the show, we now have the team selection order determined for the 2008 NBA Draft.

Selection order for the 2008 NBA Draft:

1. Chicago Bulls
2. Miami Heat
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Seattle Supersonics
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. New York Knicks
7. LA Clippers
8. Milwaukee Bucks
9. Charlotte Bobcats
10. New Jersey Nets
11. Indiana Pacers
12. Sacramento Kings
13. Portland Trailblazers
14. Golden State Warriors

Congratulations to Chicago Bulls for winning the lottery to get #1 pick. They should be able to add yet another talented player into the mix. As we all know trades can and do happen before or during the draft, so teams may swap spots. We also know the best players might not always be at the #1 spot either. Just look at guys like Chris Paul who emerged as 2nd best in this past year's MVP voting.

There's been ongoing speculation about which players will go to what teams and at which spots. Point guard Derrick Rose and forward Michael Beasley are being touted as the top 2 picks this year. At the time of these mock drafts, the order of NBA teams for the draft hadn't been selected. See info about the 2008 NBA Mock Drafts for a look at which players could be headed where in terms of team or selection spot.