The NBA draft lottery annually represents a beacon of hope for teams in the midst of rebuilding, and the Philadelphia 76ers received a major boost Tuesday when the pingpong balls bounced their way in New York.But before the Sixers snagged the rights to the No. 1 pick, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics found out they will be selecting second and third, respectively, on June 23.Here's a look at the complete lottery order following the proceedings:According toESPN Stats & Info, Tuesday marked just the fifth time since 1994 that the team with the best odds won the lottery.Furthermore, it was the first time in lottery history that things played out in the projected order.The Sixers entered lottery night with the best odds (25 percent) of obtaining the draft's top pick thanks to years of cellar-dwelling and draft-pick accrual under former general manager Sam Hinkie, and the arduous process finally paid dividends when the team's logo was the last to be shown during the dramatic reveal.And not only does the triumph mean the Sixers will have their pick of LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons or Duke Blue Devils swingman Brandon Ingram atop the draft, but it represents vindication of sorts for a franchise that had been burned in the lottery under Hinkie.The Sixers finished with the second-worst record in 2013-14 and the third-worst mark a season later, and they landed the third pick in the 2014 and 2015 drafts. As a result, they were prevented from snagging the likes of Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell and had to settle for bigs like Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor.After the City of Brotherly Love collectively exhaled, Embiid took time to shout out the phrase that had become synonymous with Hinkie's truncated tenure while providing some extra hope for the Philadelphia faithful:Now in control at the top of the draft, the Sixers can inject their roster with some much-needed talent on the wing.Though Australian phenom Simmons has long been considered the consensus No. 1 prospect in the class of 2016, Ingram reportedly gained ground following a strong showing in interviews at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago."One team official told me Ingram's interview was a home run," ESPN.com's Chad Ford wrote. "He was asked by the head coach to come up and diagram a last-second play for himself. He confidently walked to the white board and diagrammed a 'heck of a play,' according to the official."Ingram also has a leg up on Simmons when it comes to the ways in which he can get buckets.Ingram is adept at scoring off the catch, off the bounce and from beyond the three-point line. During his lone season at Duke, the 18-year-oldaveraged17.3 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting from two-point range and 41 percent shooting from three while knocking down 2.2 triples per night.Simmons is a freakish athlete who can strike fear into opponents on any transition possession, but he shot just 32.9 percent on two-point jumpers and attempted a grand total of three shots from beyond the arc in his lone season at LSU, per Hoop-Math.com.There's also the matter of character concerns. According to The Vertical'sJonathan Givony, "Simmons' lack of competitiveness in some crucial games has raised questions about his character as a basketball player."However, DraftExpress.com's Mike Schmitz noted Sixers head coach Brett Brown's connections to the Australian basketball scene will put the franchise in the best position possible to evaluate Simmons:It should also be noted that Simmons is objectively the most versatile player in this year's class. According to Sports-Reference.com's play index, Simmons is the only collegiate player since 1993 who has averaged at least 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists over the course of a single season.Outside of Simmons and Ingram, there's plenty of other tantalizing lottery talent.DraftExpress projects Providence Friars point guard Kris Dunn, Kentucky Wildcats combo guard Jamal Murray, Oklahoma Sooners sharpshooter Buddy Hield and Maccabi Tel Aviv stretch 4 Dragan Bender will be picked in the top 10. Each could be viewed as a tremendous consolation prize for the teams that failed to land a selection in the top two.
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