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Pacers Pain: In Lottery Show Rehearsal, They Jumped Into Top Four

Before almost any television production, they practice running through the order of events so that the real thing can be can as smooth as possible. In the case of the draft lottery, mock results were interesting.

Scott Agness

Pacers Pain: In Lottery Show Rehearsal, They Jumped Into Top Four
Pacers Pain: In Lottery Show Rehearsal, They Jumped Into Top Four /

The Pacers had a 19.6 percent chance of having the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and that turned out to be the case. The annual draft lottery was held on Tuesday evening in Chicago to determine the order of the top 14 selections.

The Orlando Magic secured the top pick for the fourth time in franchise history. However, before the actual drawing with 14 ping pong balls, different results were used for fun.

Did you know that for almost any big television production, there is a rehearsal? If not, now you do. And during ESPN's rehearsal of the 30-minute show they produced, they ran through it with mock results more than an hour before the actual drawing.

According to Fieldhouse Files, the Pacers were listed inside the top four — with the third overall selection. The real winners in this fictitious situation were the San Antonio Spurs, leaping up to No. 1.

What if I told you the Pacers got lucky and did move into the top three for the draft? That was true … for rehearsal, held more than three hours before the presentation you saw on ESPN.

During rehearsal, the Spurs jumped from ninth to first, the Pistons from third to first and the Pacers from fifth to third.

If only it was the real thing…

They had individuals sit in the seats like they were team representatives. ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz, standing stage left, even interviewed a person as if they were with the Spurs and just had an incredible night.

The draft will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 23.

More Pacers Coverage

  • Pacers guard Chris Duarte voted to All-Rookie Second team. CLICK HERE.
  • Pacers president Kevin Pritchard reacts to landing the sixth pick. CLICK HERE.
  • PODCAST: Scott Agness is joined by Caitlin Cooper to review last season, discuss team needs. CLICK HERE.

Follow Scott Agness on Twitter: @ScottAgness

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Scott Agness
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