New Orleans Pelicans land No. 10 overall pick in 2021 NBA draft

The New Orleans Pelicans stayed pat at Tuesday’s 2021 NBA draft lottery and will select 10th overall in July’s draft. Entering the night, the Pelicans were 10th in the lottery standings and had just a 20.3% chance of moving into the top four and a 4.5% chance of moving all the way up to the No. 1 pick.

New Orleans has had just one No. 10 pick in the franchise history, that being guard Austin Rivers in the 2012 draft. This season marks the third-straight year the Pelicans will pick in the lottery and will be the franchise’s sixth top-ten pick all-time. Along with Rivers, the remaining picks are Anthony Davis (first), Zion Williamson (first), Chris Paul (fourth), Nerlens Noel (sixth) and Buddy Hield (sixth).

Last season, the Pelicans selected Kira Lewis with the No. 13 pick. In the prior season, the team drafted Williamson on top of acquiring lottery picks Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes in trades.

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