Excitement crescendoed when Pick No. 7 passed without the Bulls’ name being called at the virtual 2020 NBA Draft Lottery, guaranteeing them a spot in the top four.
It all ended with the team cashing in a 32 percent chance of sneaking into that club, and eventually landing the No. 4 pick. It's the first time since 2008, when the Bulls beat long odds to vault from No. 9 to the No. 1 pick and selected Derrick Rose, that the team's pick exceeded its lottery slot. They had an 8.5 percent chance of landing at No. 4.
Here's the full lottery order:
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It also breaks a two-year run of the Lottery Gods granting the Bulls the No. 7 pick, and likely snaps a three-year streak of picking in the No. 7 slot — a streak which has netted Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr. and Coby White back-to-back-to-back.
New executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas, who remotely represented the team at the lottery, now has the opportunity to augment that core with a top-four selection this year. The highest the Denver Nuggets drafted during Karnišovas' tenure in their front office was seventh — in 2017, when they took Jamal Murray and in 2015, when they took Emmanuel Mudiay.
Barring a trade, this is the fourth time in franchise history the Bulls will pick No. 4 overall. Past No. 4 choices for the team include Tom Boerwinkle, Marcus Fizer and Eddy Curry.
NBA
It’s not No. 1. But an offseason filled with seismic events continues to trend positively for the Bulls.
Now, the wait for the draft, which is scheduled for Oct. 16, begins.