Valley of the Suns
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Phoenix Suns NBA Draft Lottery History

By Adam Maynes

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with Josh Jackson before the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with Josh Jackson before the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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In 1985, then NBA Commissioner David Stern instituted the Draft Lottery, a system that was intended to help stop tanking (a problem that was both rampant and far worse than what the Phoenix Suns did this year) by giving all teams not in that year’s playoffs an equal chance at the number one overall selection. Here is an (updated for 2018) history of the Phoenix Suns in the draft lottery.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 22: NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with Josh Jackson before the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 22: NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with Josh Jackson before the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Originally as individual envelopes stuffed with a card holding the logo of each non-playoff team all shuffled around in a bingo ball spinner, the NBA’s draft lottery system has since gone through multiple variations as it has been refined and made more ‘fair’ to the league’s worst teams.

Since 1985, the Phoenix Suns have participated in the lottery on 14 occasions (the 15th will be in 2018). 14 times has the team missed the playoffs and thus been given a shot at the number one overall spot in the draft. 14 times has Suns fans been disappointed.

While other franchises have leapt from the very back to the very front (1985 New York in particular), others have won it multiple times (the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers are tied with the most lottery ‘wins’ at three), the Phoenix Suns have yet to hit the jackpot, only coming as close as second place, once.

The 2018 NBA Draft Lottery is the best time the Suns will have ever had at landing the league’s top draft selection, as they hold the best odds in the selection process. This of course will change next summer as the bottom three teams will all hold the same odds as one another, something for future Suns fans to worry about, we’ve got this year’s lottery to deal with.

This is a listing of every lottery appearance the Suns have had since the program’s inception.

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