By the time Duncan finished his college career, it was clear to everyone that he was a once-in-a-generation talent that could immediately reverse the fortunes of a franchise. So every team wanted him. But perhaps nobody wanted him more than the Boston Celtics, who went on an epic and intentional losing spree, tanking their way to an abysmal 15-67 record. The tantalizing prospect of having Tim Duncan for a decade or more even lured Rick Pitino away from the college ranks to take over as Celtics head coach.

One problem, though: despite having the worst record by far, the Celtics ended up only getting the third pick thanks to a lottery system designed to counteract intentional losing. Instead it was the San Antonio Spurs who lucked into the first pick after their usually excellent team fluked into a bad record due to season-ending injuries to their top stars. Not only is it better to be lucky than good, it's apparently also better to be lucky than bad.