NBA Draft Lottery: Detroit Pistons Take Home Top Selection, Plus Full Results and Analysis

With franchise legend Ben Wallace as their representative, the Detroit Pistons struck gold in Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery, landing the number one overall pick.

Detroit had the best odds at 14% (tied with Houston and Orlando) and now have the opportunity to select a franchise-altering prospect. The Houston Rockets will pick second while the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, and Orlando Magic round out the top five picks.

Toronto was a big winner of the night. They were projected to land the seventh pick, but jumped up to fourth. The three-spot increase was the biggest of the lottery. Cleveland also bettered its projected spot, moving from fifth to third.

Goin' To Work: For the Pistons, it marks their first number one overall pick since 1970 and only the third in team history.

Last season, new general manager Troy Weaver completely overhauled the roster, moving on from veteran players while bringing in young talent. With three first-round draft picks, Weaver selected point guard Killian Hayes, center Isaiah Stewart, and forward Saddiq Bey. Both Stewart and Bey made the NBA All-Rookie teams and look like building blocks for the next contending Pistons team.

Now with the first pick, Detroit is expected to select Cade Cunningham out of Oklahoma State. He is considered the best prospect in this draft class and a future all-star talent. It's the first time Detroit has selected in the top three since taking Darko Milicic third overall in 2003 and the Pistons are hoping this pick works out better.

Best Of The Rest: As for Houston, they traded away James Harden after eight consecutive playoff appearances and now have the chance to build around center Christian Wood. The Cavaliers already have a stable of young talent with guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, forward Isaac Okoro, and center Jarrett Allen. Now, Cleveland will be able to add another elite talent to a young core.

Toronto saw its seven-season playoff streak end after a miserable year, but has the pieces to contend again with guard Fred VanVleet and forwards Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. The Magic have two picks in the top seven after acquiring one from the Chicago Bulls in the Nikola Vucevic trade. Golden State also has two lottery picks with one coming from Minnesota in the Andrew Wiggins-DeAngelo Russell swap. The Warriors now have trade ammunition to bolster their lineup around Stephen Curry and company or to add young talent and retool.

With a consensus top-four group of Cunningham, big man Evan Mobley, guard Jalen Green, and guard Jalen Suggs, the top-end talent of this draft is high. After that, forwards Jonathan Kuminga and Scottie Barnes come into play as well.

The 2021 NBA Draft is July 28 on ESPN.

Full NBA Draft Lottery order

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Houston Rockets
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Toronto Raptors
5. Orlando Magic
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
7. Golden State Warriors
8. Orlando Magic
9. Sacramento Kings
10. New Orleans Pelicans
11. Charlotte Hornets
12. San Antonio Spurs
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Golden State Warriors