Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson (15) gets wrapped up with Denver Nuggets center Nene Hilario (31) in the first half. The Denver Nuggets hosted the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night, Nov. 17, 2009 at the Pepsi Center. (Denver Post file)
The Denver Nuggets have never won the NBA draft lottery. Ever.
Even with the league’s worst record in 1990, they ended up with the No. 3 pick. It did turn out pretty good though — they selected a 6-foot-1 guard from LSU named Chris Jackson, who later became known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.
On Tuesday, the for the 2015 draft. Denver has never started from the No. 7 position before the lottery, however several names from teams that have that began in that slot have been in Nuggets uniforms, including George McCloud, Andre Miller, Kenyon Martin, Nene Hilario and Randy Foye.
In the 30-year history of the draft lottery, two teams from the No. 7 position have won the top-overall pick: New Jersey (2000 — Kenyon Martin) and Portland (2007 — Greg Oden). The spot has also yielded a No. 2 pick and a pair of No. 3’s.
The Nuggets may luck out and land a star player like Anfernee Hardaway or Stephen Curry. They may end up with someone who falls out of the league quickly, such as Ed O’Bannon or Joe Alexander. Or, more likely, someone in between.
Here’s a look at what teams did from the No. 7 pre-lottery position:
Draft picks from the No. 7 pre-lottery position
1985: Jon Koncak, Atlanta (5th pick)
1986: William Bedford, Phoenix (6th pick)
1987: Armon Gilliam, Phoenix (2nd pick)
1988: Charles Smith, Philadelphia (3rd pick)
1989: George McCloud, Indiana (7th pick)
== Weighted system introduced ==
1990: Bo Kimble, Los Angeles Clippers (8th pick)
1991: Luc Longley, Minnesota (7th pick)
1992: Todd Day, Milwaukee (8th pick)
1993: Anfernee Hardaway, Golden State (3rd pick)
== New weighted system introduced ==
1994: Lamond Murray, Los Angeles Clippers (7th pick)
1995: Ed O’Bannon, New Jersey (9th pick)
1996: Lorenzen Wright, Los Angeles Clippers (7th pick)
1997: Tim Thomas, New Jersey (7th pick)
1998: Jason Williams, Sacramento (7th pick)
1999: Andre Miller, Cleveland (8th pick from Boston)
2000: Kenyon Martin, New Jersey (1st pick)
2001: DeSagana Diop, Cleveland (8th pick)
2002: Nene Hilario, New York (7th pick traded to Denver)
2003: Kirk Hinrich, Chicago (7th pick)
2004: Rafael Araujo, Toronto (8th pick)
2005: Charlie Villanueva, Toronto (7th pick)
2006: Randy Foye, Minnesota (7th pick)
2007: Greg Oden, Portland (1st pick)
2008: Joe Alexander, Milwaukee (8th pick)
2009: Stephen Curry, Golden State (7th pick)
2010: Greg Monroe, Detroit (7th pick)
2011: Brandon Knight, Detroit (8th pick)
2012: Harrison Barnes, Golden State (7th pick)
2013: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Detroit (8th pick)
2014: Nik Strauskas, Sacramento (8th pick)
== Overall average draft position: 6.4 ==
Sources: NBA.com, RealGM.com, Basketball-Reference.com
