Haha, wow. Talk about unlikely.
The Chicago Bulls won the top pick in the 2008 NBA Draft despite having only a 1.7% chance of doing so. The Miami Heat will pick second, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will pick third. Here's the complete draft order:
- Chicago Bulls
- Miami Heat
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Seattle SuperSonics
- Memphis Grizzlies
- New York Knicks
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Charlotte Bobcats
- New Jersey Nets
- Indiana Pacers
- Sacramento Kings
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Golden State Warriors
Certainly the Bulls' and Heat's gain is the Magic's loss, as those two teams figure to improve tremendously with their picks. They won't be better than the Magic -- barring a trade, anyway -- but they've closed the gap.
Worth noting: the Milwaukee Bucks will pick eighth, which is not exactly where they want to be. Their new GM, John Hammond, indicated earlier today (via NBN) that he might consider trading the pick for veteran help. It'd take quite the deal for the Magic to pry the eighth pick from Milwaukee, but stranger things have happened.