The Washington Wizards received the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft during Tuesday night’s Draft Lottery in Chicago. The Wizards were represented onstage by Head Coach Wes Unseld Jr.
“We will be able to add a young and talented player to our roster with the eighth overall pick,” said Unseld Jr. “We began working on improving our team immediately after the season concluded and we’re looking forward to adding another player that can contribute while developing in our system.”
The Wizards held a 32.91% chance of getting the eighth overall pick, the highest odds for the team prior to the unveiling of the draft order. This marks the first time the team will pick eighth in franchise history.
Many Wizards fans were hopeful that luck would be on their side with the number one pick somehow landing in the team’s favor. However, the Wizards odds of landing the number one pick was very slim at 6.70%.
It has actually been quite some time since the Wizards held the number one overall pick. The last time they did, they selected the forever popular John Wall.
Now that the Wizards are a lock for the eighth overall pick, this may be one of the most important draft picks in awhile. Ted Leonis made it clear with the firing of president and general manager Tommy Sheppard that it is a new day for the franchise.
With the search for a new general manager presumably underway, the Wizards are in dire need of a game changer in the front office and on the court via the NBA Draft.
These questions and more will be answered when the 2023 NBA Draft takes place on June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.