The NBA Draft Lottery takes place on Tuesday, June 22, to determine exactly which pick(s) the Warriors will have in the upcoming draft. This year, the Warriors are guaranteed a top-14 pick with the possibility of receiving a second first-round selection. The 2021 NBA Draft Lottery will mark the 23rd time the franchise will participate in the event since its inception in 1985.
Of the 22 prior lottery appearances, the Warriors have “moved up” in the lottery three times, most recently in 1995 when the Dubs yielded the top pick (Joe Smith) from their fifth pre-lottery slot. The Warriors have “dropped down” on eight occasions and maintained their pre-lottery position 11 times, most recently in last year’s lottery when the Warriors, who were tied for the first pre-lottery position, wound up with the second pick (James Wiseman). Wiseman averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 39 games played during the 2020-21 season.
The action continues once teams have their assigned draft spot following each year’s Draft Lottery, with teams choosing from a number options in front of them including keeping their slot or trading their draft pick(s) for any combination of players, other draft picks or even cash.
The Warriors have a fair track record with draft selections made with lottery picks in the past, as two Warriors (Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond) from the lottery era are enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Moreover, the Warriors have three lottery picks on the current roster and a total of three selections (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Harrison Barnes) have won NBA Championships with the team.
Another five selections were members of the underdog “We Believe” Warriors, who toppled a top-seeded Dallas Mavericks team in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. Two additional lottery picks were on that 2006-07 squad to begin the season, but were included in the trade package that brought Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Šarūnas Jasikevičius and Josh Powell to the team for their playoff push.
In anticipation of the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery, take a look at a cumulative list of draft selections made with lottery picks in Warriors history:
* Traded for Chris Webber
**Traded for Antawn Jamison
***Traded the rights to Bimbo Coles and the 10th pick overall, in exchange for
Mookie Blaylock and the 21st pick overall