Wizards enjoying biggest win of year

SECAUCUS, N.J. - With a lucky charm from the franchise's best days, the Washington Wizards won the NBA's draft lottery last night.

Washington moved up from the No. 5 spot to earn the top pick in next month's draft, when it likely will choose between Kentucky freshman John Wall and national player of the year Evan Turner, of Ohio State.

The Wizards were represented by Irene Pollin, who wore the 1978 Bullets championship ring of her late husband, longtime owner Abe Pollin. When the Wizards pulled off the surprising win, Irene Pollin's jaw dropped and appeared to mouth, "Oh my God!'' with wide eyes.

Abe Pollin died at age 85 in November.

"My husband wanted another [championship] so badly," she said. "He really did. So maybe this will be the beginning of another one."

The lottery victory is one of the rare things that has gone right in a disastrous year for the Wizards, marred by the suspension of Gilbert Arenas for bringing guns into the Verizon Center locker room. They finished 26-56 after being widely forecast to finish in the middle of the Eastern Conference.

Now they hope the No. 1 pick can help spark a quick turnaround under Ted Leonsis, who is close to completing a deal to buy the franchise from the Pollin family.

The 76ers, another disappointment this season, moved up to grab the No. 2 pick. The New Jersey Nets continued the run of failure by teams with the best chance of winning, falling to the third.

Represented by new owner Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets had a 25 percent chance of winning after going 12-70. Instead, the team with the worst record still hasn't won since 2004, when the Orlando Magic selected Dwight Howard.

The Minnesota Timberwolves fell from second to fourth. Sacramento (No. 5) and Golden State (No. 6) also tumbled - the second straight year the Kings went the wrong way in the lottery.

The NBA draft is June 24 in New York.