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The NBA held its draft lottery in Chicago on Monday, a little bit before the Knicks would host the Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden. The Mavericks walked away happiest, winning this year’s top prize of Cooper Flagg, and that ought to go a long way toward pushing Dallas back to respectability sooner than might’ve been otherwise expected.
In a delightful coincidence, Lottery Day ’25 fell on the 40th anniversary of the very first NBA lottery, which was the first lottery of its kind in the history of American sports and, of course, was the third-most memorable day in Knicks history. And for those too young to remember No. 1 (the 1970 title) and No. 2 (the ’73 championship), it’s at the very top of the list.
It’s a well-timed collision, actually. It’s a perfect reminder that while there are riches to be found by winning the lottery — Flagg this year, Patrick Ewing in ’85 — it is still far preferable to be watching it than to be participating in it. The buzz that had reached deafening levels in New York City prior to 3:30 or so on Saturday afternoon may have dissipated some, but the fact is that when the series resumed Monday, the Knicks were still halfway to a berth in the conference finals.
From the day the Knicks won the rights to Ewing, they still had to wait some eight long years before they ever got to an East final, nine before they ever saw the Finals. Hope for the future is a helpful thing. Hope for today is even better.
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