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CHICAGO — The Indiana Pacers didn't move up in the NBA Draft Lottery. They didn't move down, either. They remained at seven, their pre-lottery location and second-highest draft pick since 1988, but it always feels uneventful when a team doesn't move up in the lottery.
The Pacers almost did, though. They were one number away, according to President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. The NBA draws four ping pong balls that have the numbers one through 14 on them, producing a four-number combination. Each of the combinations — there's 1,001 of them — correspond to one of the lottery teams. Once a combination is drawn, the team represented by those four digits wins the pick being selected at that time.
The scene for the 2023 lottery became dramatic. The first number drawn was 14. Then five. Then eight. After three numbers, the Pacers were still in the mix for the number one overall pick. They just needed one more ping pong ball to go their way.
The final number was two. It was not Indiana's night. That combination belonged to the San Antonio Spurs, and the Western Conference squad won the draft lottery and will have the chance to select Victor Wembanyama in June's draft.
Pritchard was in the room watching the lottery. After the final number for the first overall pick was drawn, he glanced down at the sheet that lists all the combinations. "San Antonio Spurs," a moderator called out. Pritchard took his glasses off and sat there in the silence of the room. The Pacers combination was not selected.
"My heart was racing. I was super excited," Pritchard said. "We were close," he added, later noting that he was bummed.
Pritchard put his glasses back off after 28 seconds, and the lottery continued. Indiana did not get any of the top-four picks, hence them remaining at seven, but fortunately for them, none of the teams behind them leapfrogged them. Not falling down is not as crushing.
The blue and gold will hope to take advantage of another top pick after selecting Bennedict Mathurin sixth overall last year. The shooting guard ended up on the All-Rookie first team after averaging nearly 17 points per game in his first season, and the Pacers have a solid young core between Mathurin, All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, and 2022 31st overall pick Andrew Nembhard.
"We think this is a good draft. We'll do our best to get another [Mathurin] and [Nembhard]," Pritchard said.
Pritchard later went on to describe the makeup of the prospects. He believes there is a tier at the top, and he wouldn't name names, but that group is Wembanyama. He then detailed a second tier of a couple guys below that, and then another group following close behind. At seven, Indiana is in that third group, one that could allow for mobility.
"We like the tier we're in and there's some flexibility in that tier that we really like," Pritchard said in a hallway of the McCormick Place convention center. He was downstairs from where the lottery order was announced to the congregation of people as well as the public on ESPN.
Despite the clear disappointment of not getting the first pick, Pritchard did seem excited about the tools the Pacers have in the draft. Indiana also clinched the 32nd pick, instead of 50, thanks to the lottery results, which was a win. They now have four picks in the top 32.
"I like the seventh pick in this draft," Pritchard said. "We want to get someone that can build with our youth... and that can grow over the next three or four years together."
The seventh overall pick has seen more successes than failures in the last 10 years, with Julius Randle headlining the former group and Emmanuel Mudiay leading the latter. With the perceived talent in this draft class, the Pacers should have a chance at getting someone talented.
There are a lot of unique talents after the perceived top three in the draft. Jarace Walker, Taylor Hendricks, the Thompson twins, and Cam Whitmore all appear to be skilled in different ways. For the Pacers, they will have to figure out which prospect they like best — perhaps in that group, perhaps not — and hope they can get him.
The Pacers need forwards and defense, so a few guys in that group stand out. Pritchard admitted as much about the team's need for defense just after the lottery.
"There are guys that we're going to be looking at more on the defensive end. We're going to value that more," he said.
What he didn't know was if his team would follow the "best player available" strategy or if they would consider fit after a successful season. "I've made mistakes on both sides of those," Pritchard said of the two lines of thinking. "At seven, you really want to have a guy with a high ceiling."
The Indiana Pacers didn't end up landing the chance to select Wembanyama and aren't picking in the top four. But their lottery night went just fine, and the franchise is confident they can land the right player with the seventh pick. After a great draft in 2022, the front office will look to duplicate that performance in next month's draft.
More must-reads:
- Pacers ride bench to first playoff series win in 10 years
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- The 'Highest career PPG in the playoffs' quiz
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