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Despite having only a 1.7 percent chance of obtaining the
first selection with the ninth-best odds, the Cavaliers emerged
as victors in the much anticipated lottery.
In 2011, Cleveland finished with the second-worst record in the
league but earned the right to pick point guard Kyrie Irving of
Duke with the top selection.
Last year, the Cavaliers had the third-best chance of scooping
the lottery, yet still came out on top and chose forward Anthony
Bennett of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Australian Irving, a twice NBA All-Star, was delighted by
Tuesday's lottery news and tweeted: "Luck of the ping pong
balls... Very exciting!!!"
The Milwaukee Bucks, who ended up with the league's worst record
in 2013-14, will pick second in this year's draft, followed by
the Philadelphia 76ers, who endured a 26-game losing streak
during the regular season.
The next 11 lottery picks will be made by the Orlando Magic,
Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings,
Charlotte Hornets, 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Magic, Minnesota
Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns.
The Lakers, in the lottery for the first time since 2005,
dropped one spot in the order to seventh while the Celtics,
looking for their first lottery win, slipped one spot to sixth.
The top picks in this year's draft are expected to include
players such as Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid from Kansas,
Jabari Parker from Duke and Australia's Dante Exum.
The 2014 NBA Draft will be held in Brooklyn on June 26.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by
Greg Stutchbury)
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