“You deserve this. We all deserve this.”
I point at my reflection in the mirror and repeat it, like I’m trying to convince my own brain that I believe what I’m saying.
Cold water splashes off my face and into the sink. You’re alive.
I take my seat on the couch and press the power button. No, nobody is dying nor am I directly confronting other ills that befall me. But for some inexplicable reason, I wait for ping pong balls.
“Ben freaking Wallace is repping us, no way we fall.”
The NBA Draft lottery is Tuesday night. The Detroit Pistons, who concluded the 2020-21 season with the second-worst record in the NBA, have the chance to select anywhere from the first pick to the sixth.
In the grand scheme of things, the lottery is a meaningless exercise. After all, it’s the table-setting for the draft, which also doesn’t mean anything before we see on-court results. And no matter where Detroit lands, it will automatically have its highest draft pick since … gulp … 2003.
Despite the non-stakes, the outcome of the lottery could be franchise-altering. For that reason, of which I have no control, my stomach was in knots trying to figure out how to feel about however it goes.
After some introspection, I outlined a guide for how to temper expectations and react accordingly no matter when the Pistons’ name is called.
Detroit Pistons get the No. 1 Pick (14.0%): Are you serious?!?
Go back to the mirror and slap yourself in the face. Wait, it hurt? This is real life?
Congratulations Pistons fans, the scenario we imagined but never truly believed in has happened. Barring material changes, Detroit has won the Cade Cunningham sweepstakes. There is no other player to consider for more than a couple seconds.
Not once since the lottery was created in 1985 has Detroit moved up in the process with its own pick, let alone drafted No. 1 overall. Open up the bubbly, tweet everything in your drafts, streak down the street. You’re invincible.
The mental burden lifted off of the team and fans is immeasurable. Instead of thinking about what can go wrong, good thoughts persist until the start of next season when we see him in action.
The Pistons can kick their feet up and relax until the July 29 draft.