Maybe the Phoenix Suns luck is starting to change. After 50 years the lottery curse is finally broken. Following arguably the worst season in franchise history it was all smiles on Planet Orange late Tuesday afternoon when the ping-pong balls cooperated and the Suns landed the top overall pick in this summer’s draft.
Phoenix, who finished with a league-worst 21-61 record, will have their first number one pick in franchise history.
The Suns will have likely select between former University of Arizona star center DeAndre Ayton, who also played for Hillcrest Academy in the Valley, and Slovenian teenage star Luca Doncic who new head coach Igor Kokoskov is quite familiar with.
Many believe the pick could be Ayton who is viewed as a once-in-a-generation-type talent for a team who has longed for a dominant post presence.
“He’s a phenomenal talent, a phenomenal player,” Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough said of Ayton on a conference call with the media shortly after the lottery. “He’s got everything you want in terms of prototypical size, strength, length. He’s a really unique player with a ton of talent who’s obviously heavily in the mix for us at number one.”
The Sacramento Kings will select second and the Atlanta Hawks will select third.
Eric Sorenson
