Those longtime losers from Los Angeles were big winners on Tuesday night.
The Clippers came to Secausus, New Jersey, for what's practically an annual spring vacation and are going home with a nice souvenir: the No. 1 pick in next month's draft.
The Clippers won the draft lottery, moving up from the third-best chance to earn the top pick for the third time, earning the right to draft All-America forward Blake Griffin of Oklahoma, the national college player of the year.
Memphis vaulted to second and Oklahoma City will pick third in the draft on June 25.
Sacramento, which had the best chance to win the lottery after finishing a league-worst 17-65, slipped to fourth, and Washington fell from second to No. 5. The Clippers last had the No. 1 pick in 1998 and blew it, taking eventual bust Michael Olowokandi.
They stand a better chance of getting it right this time if they go with Griffin, who led with 30 double-doubles and 14.4 rebounds per game, while also averaging a Big 12-best 22.7 points as a sophomore.
Minnesota has the sixth pick followed by Golden State, New York, Toronto, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Charlotte, Indiana and Phoenix.
The lottery determines the top three picks, with the rest of the first round going by inverse order of a team's record. It began in 1985, when the New York Knicks selected Patrick Ewing.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily May 21, 2009)
