When it comes to the NBA draft lottery, things aren’t always as clear-cut as they’re theoretically supposed to be.
In a perfect world, the team with the first overall pick would pick that season’s rookie of the year, with the second pick being used on the second-best player of that draft class, and so on and so forth until all 60 picks have been used.
Obviously, the real world isn’t perfect, and teams often make several mistakes each draft, sometimes passing on MVP-level talents when they have a top 3 pick in a given year.
A prime example of the draft being more art than science is the 13th pick in the lottery being used to select great players such as Kobe Bryant and Donovan Mitchell.
However, when it comes to the eighth pick in the draft, things have seemed to be quite uneventful over the years, which is bad news for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who currently hold the 8th pick in the 2018 NBA draft.
In fact, the eighth pick in the lottery has been so devoid of talent over the years, that the last time an All-Star was selected with the 8th pick in the draft was 1993.
Take a look at the past decade-worth of 8th picks and see for yourself how cursed the position has been over the years.
- Frank Ntilikina (2017)
- Marquese Chriss (2016)
- Stanley Johnson (2015)
- Nik Stauskas (2014)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (2013)
- Terrence Ross (2012)
- Brandon Knight (2011)
- Al-Farouq Aminu (2010)
- Jordan Hill (2009)
- Joe Alexander (2008)
- Brandan Wright (2007)
With Cleveland currently holding the rights to the Brooklyn Nets pick this year, which landed eighth in the lottery, history isn’t shining down on the Cavs this upcoming draft, even if the draft class is absolutely loaded.
