Nick Collison to represent OKC Thunder at 2022 NBA Draft Lottery

Nick Collison, whose retired No. 4 jersey hangs in the rafters at Paycom Center, will represent the Thunder at the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery, the league announced Monday.

Collison, nicknamed Mr. Thunder, played his entire 14-year career with the Thunder/SuperSonics franchise. His jersey is the first and only that’s been retired since the franchise relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

Among Thunder players, Collison ranks second all-time in games played, fifth in rebounds, fifth in assists and eighth in points. He averaged 5.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 910 career games.

Collison has worked in the Thunder’s front office since his retirement in 2018. He first served as a basketball operations representative, and last summer he was promoted as special assistant to general manager Sam Presti.

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“Nick knows the draft pretty well now,” Presti said in his exit interview. “He’s been out and watched a lot of players, and I really trust his instincts on a lot of different things.”

Collison’s expertise won’t help the Thunder on Tuesday night. The lottery, which the franchise has never won, all comes down to luck.

The Thunder is entering Tuesday night with two lottery picks: its own, which has a 12.5% chance of vaulting to No. 1, and another pick via the Clippers, which has a 1.5% chance of winding up at No. 1.

The Thunder’s most likely pick combination is getting No. 6 and No. 12, but there’s a 59% chance the Thunder lands one top-five pick, and a 40% chance it leaps inside the top-three, where one of three marquee big men — Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren, Auburn's Jabari Smith and Duke's Paolo Banchero — will be available.

Collison, a 6-foot-10 power forward/center who starred at Kansas, was the 12th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.

A former Thunder player turned front office employee will represent the Thunder at the lottery for the second straight year. Last year it was Nazr Mohammed, a former Thunder center who now works as general manager of the G League Oklahoma City Blue.

Mohammed didn't have the best of luck. The Thunder was awarded the sixth pick in the 2021 draft, which was a major disappointment on lottery night. That pick is viewed more positively a year later, given Josh Giddey's standout rookie season.

Joining Collison on stage will be representatives from the other 12 lottery teams: PJ Washington (Hornets forward), Anderson Varejao (Cavaliers team ambassador), Richard Hamilton (Pistons legend), Rafael Stone (Rockets general manager), Kelly Krauskopf (Pacers assistant general manager), Swin Cash-Canal (Pelicans vice president of basketball operations), William Wesley (Knicks executive vice president), Jeff Weltman (Magic president of basketball operations), Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers guard), Domantas Sabonis (Kings forward), David Robinson (Spurs legend) and Wes Unseld Jr. (Wizards coach).

The lottery, held in Chicago, will air at 7 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.

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NBA Draft key dates

COMBINE: May 16-22 in Chicago

LOTTERY: 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17 in Chicago (ESPN)

DRAFT: June 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

NBA Lottery odds for No. 1 pick

Rockets: 14%

Magic: 14%

Pistons: 14%

Thunder: 12.5%

Pacers: 10.5%

Trail Blazers: 9%

Kings: 7.5%

Pelicans (via Lakers): 6%

Spurs: 4.5%

Wizards: 3%

Knicks: 2%

Thunder (via Clippers): 1.5%

Hornets: 1%

Cavaliers: 0.5%

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 2022 NBA Lottery: Nick Collison to represent OKC Thunder