For the fifth time in team history, the Phoenix Suns will pick fourth in the NBA Draft.
It's not the result fans were hoping for.
The Suns were awarded the No. 4 overall pick in next month's draft based on the results of Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery in New York City.
The Suns finished the 2016-17 NBA season with the league's second-worst record, and they had a better than 50 percent chance of receiving a top-three pick.
The Boston Celtics will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft. The Lakers will pick second and the 76ers will pick third.
It's the third time under the current draft lottery format that the Suns have moved down in the NBA Draft based on their season record. The Suns have never moved up in the current draft format, and they've never had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
It's just another stroke of bad luck for Suns fans that goes back almost 50 years.
In 1969, the Suns lost a coin flip with the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to the No. 1 overall pick in the '69 draft. The Bucks selected Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), and he led the Bucks to their first and only NBA championship two years later. The Suns are still looking for their first NBA title.
The 2017 NBA Draft will take place Thursday, June 22 beginning at 4 p.m. Arizona time.
