Suns clinch worst record in NBA, top lottery odds for 2018 No. 1 draft pick
With their 117-100 defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, the Phoenix Suns have fallen to 20-61 on the season, clinching the worst record in the league and the best odds at securing the No. 1 pick at the 2018 draft lottery.
In addition to a 25 percent chance of winning the top overall draft pick, the Suns have a 64.2 percent chance of remaining in the top three.
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The Suns also clinched the second-worst record in franchise history. The team's all-time low watermark for decrepitude came back in 1968-69, when they posted a league-worst 16-66 record. Due to the rules of the day, the top overall draft pick was determined by coin flip between the worst team in the Eastern and Western Divisions.
Despite finishing 11 games behind the 27-55 Milwaukee Bucks, the Suns lost the coin flip and had to settle for center Neal Walk. Walk played five seasons for the Suns, averaging 14.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He was out of the league by 1977.
The man the Bucks took with the No. 1 pick in 1969 would go on to average 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 blocks over 20 seasons. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, born Lew Alcindor, was a six-time champion, 19-time All-Star, and was ultimately elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
The Suns will hope for slightly better luck when the ping-pong balls drop in Chicago on May 15. The draft itself will take place in Brooklyn on June 21, just days after the NBA Finals.