Rockets One Week Away From Draft Lottery Fate
HOUSTON — The NBA will hold its annual Draft Lottery on Tuesday, May 17 in Chicago. The results of the lottery will begin at 8 p.m. ET.
The Houston Rockets are entering the lottery with the highest odds of receiving the top selection in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Rockets finished the 2021-22 campaign with the league's worst record at 20-62.
Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren is the projected top prospect entering the draft. But Houston could pass on the opportunity to draft Holmgren if given the chance.
A source told Rockets Insider that Houston is interested in Duke forward Paolo Banchero. Banchero is entering the draft after leading the Blue Devils to Final Four. He averaged 17.2 points and 7.8 rebounds during his lone season at Duke.
Last year the Rockets came out of the draft lottery with the No. 2 selection in the 2021 NBA Draft. Houston used their top pick on Jalen Green, who became the first prospect drafted from the G-League Ignite.
Green appeared in 67 games as a rookie, where he recorded 17.3 points on 42.6 percent shooting from the field.
Despite missing out on the top overall pick, the Rockets had arguably the best draft class with the selections of Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher.
If the Rockets come out of the lottery with the top selection of the draft, it will mark the sixth time in franchise history Houston held the No. 1 pick. Elvin Hayes (1968), John Lucas (1976), Ralph Sampson (1983), Hakeem Olajuwon (1984) and Yao Ming (2003) are players the Rockets drafted with their past No. 1 picks.
