On Tuesday evening, the Sacramento Kings will learn what pick they will hold in the 2014 NBA Draft and representing them at the lottery will be Anjali Ranadive, daughter of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive.
As you’ve likely heard, it was Anjali’s interest in basketball which eventually lead to Vivek coaching her youth team before he bought minority ownership in the Golden State Warriors.
That of course turned into being the majority buyer of the Kings just a few short years later.
Last season former head coach Keith Smart attended the NBA’s Draft Lottery on behalf of the Kings despite the fact the team was in a pending sale. Ranadive did not have control of the team going into the lottery, so the Maloof family appointed Smart who was eventually let go just a few weeks later. Why they didn’t pick a player is still odd to me.
Sacramento currently owns the seventh best odds at securing the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft at 4.3 percent.
The then New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets were awarded the #1 pick out of the seventh slot in 2000. That’s the only team to win the lottery out of the Kings lotto spot since the NBA adopted the format.
ESPN will televise the lottery at 8 p.m. ET.