Twitter credits Pistons' Ben Wallace for Detroit winning NBA Draft lottery

Zac Al-Khateeb

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Twitter credits Pistons' Ben Wallace for Detroit winning NBA Draft lottery image

Ben Wallace has once again come through for the Pistons.

The impending Basketball Hall of Famer, representing the Pistons at the 2021 NBA Draft lottery, became instant meme material when it was announced Detroit had won the right to the top overall pick of the draft and, presumably, Oklahoma State prospect Cade Cunningham:

MORE: NBA Draft lottery live results

General manager Troy Weaver had this to say when asked why Wallace was selected to represent Detroit in the lottery:

"He epitomizes everything that we want to represent in this organization," Weaver said of Wallace (via the Detroit Free Press). "He's a symbol for our players to look to. He represents the city in a first-class manner."

Of course, Detroit had an equal chance (14 percent) of securing the top pick with the Magic and Rockets as one of the three bottom teams in the league. Curiously, most of Twitter joked that the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and six-time All-Defensive player was the reason the Pistons secured the No. 1 pick. As far as conspiracy theories go, this is pretty tame and actually pretty funny.

The full lottery results, meanwhile, are as follows:

  1. Pistons
  2. Rockets
  3. Cavaliers
  4. Raptors
  5. Magic
  6. Thunder
  7. Warriors
  8. Magic
  9. Kings
  10. Pelicans
  11. Hornets
  12. Spurs
  13. Pacers
  14. Warriors

And now, the Twitter reactions:

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb Photo

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.