In 1984, the NBA decided to change up how the draft system was organized. The Board of Governors voted to create a lottery system that determined the order of selections, rather than basing the picks solely off of win/loss standings. It’s been 34 years since the league installed those rules, and the Kings will participate in the drawing for a 23^rd time tomorrow night. Outside of the 1999-2006 postseason run, this organization has been in the lottery for 23 out of 26 possible seasons. Those 23 lottery selections have produced two All-Stars, Peja Stojakovic in 1996 and DeMarcus Cousins in 2010.

Theoretically, the lottery system prevents tanking and also gives a fair shake to all of the franchises that find themselves outside of the playoff picture at the end of the season. But for Sacramento, like a Jennifer Lawrence character in a dystopian society, the odds are never in their favor:

The table shows us a depressing run of bad luck for the Kings. In 22 years, the organization has jumped up just two times. Back in 1989 we moved from 6^th to 1^st, selecting Pervis Ellison, and last year we moved up from 8^th to 3rd. Yes, we should have ended up with Jayson Tatum, but I digress. Sacramento then moved from 3^rd back to 5^th due to the self-destructive trade that Vlade Divac executed back in 2015, forcing a pick-swap between the Kings and the Sixers. Aside from those two magical lotteries, the Kings have stayed neutral 11 times, picking within their original positioning, and have moved backwards 9 times, losing a total of 16 positions.

The 2018 draft will mark the 12^th consecutive year in which Sacramento has sent a representative to the lotto. During the current streak, we’ve moved up one time, stayed in our same spot six times, and have been cursed by the ping pong balls four times. The most severe was back in 2009. The Kings managed to acquire the worst record in the NBA, but fell as far as legally possible, sliding back to fourth, picking Tyreke Evans with Blake Griffin going first overall. That run of bad luck continued for the next two years as Sacramento dropped from 3^rd to 5^th, taking DeMarcus Cousins in 2010 and again moving back two positions in 2011, from 5^th to 7^th, eventually selecting Jimmer Fredette. In total, the Kings lost seven draft spots in just three years.

Even with our significant jump last year, Sacramento is still very much in the negative when considering ping pong balls. Nine negative experiences compared with two positives just doesn’t add up. This long-suffering fan base is due some luck, and a reward of Luka Doncic or DeAndre Ayton would certainly go a long way toward closing that gap.