The wait is over. Pacers fans finally learned where Indiana will pick sixth in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft on Tuesday night thanks at the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery.
The Pacers dropped one spot in the lottery as Sacramento - which entered the lottery with the seventh-best odds - jumped ahead of Indiana and into the top four.
It will be the highest the Pacers have picked in over three decades, since Indiana drafted Rik Smits second overall in 1988. The Pacers have never had the sixth pick in the draft before this year.
"We're excited," Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard told the media after the draft. "We're going to kick butt. We're not messing around now. I think we showed last year that we're willing to move and toggle to get where we want to get.
"I'd be shocked if that isn't just the start of it because I want to get aggressive."
Although the Pacers dropped in the lottery, Pritchard still expressed optimism about where they're picking in what he considers to be a deep draft.
"There's something about picking (sixth) that at the end of the day, there's usually a little chip on the player's shoulder," Pritchard said. "Like, 'Why wasn't I considered in the top four?' And I like that. I think this guy who we pick, it's going to be paramount, number one, that he loves basketball.
"We're going to keep an open mind. There's something that's really important to me (and) to the (front office) and that is, the player that we draft, we want him in Indiana. We want him in for 24 hours and maybe more and we want to spend some serious time to get to know him."
The 2022 NBA Draft will take place on June 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Indiana also owns the first and last picks of the second round, the 31st and 58th overall selections.
"I think we're really excited to start getting to know these players," Pritchard said. "There's some difference-makers and there's some real value in this draft and we've got to find both."