Winner: Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors have a lottery pick for the first-time since 2016 and they have a Top-5 pick in the draft for the first-time since 2011! The Raptors are without a doubt the biggest winners of the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery because this is a franchise in which everything went wrong for them this year. 

Not only did injuries affect their chances to be special, but it just seems like that this team has been left with some holes ever since winning the championship in 2019. Kawhi Leonard leaving definitely did not help things, but losing Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka also really hurt this team more than many initially thought. 

Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Chris Boucher make up the current core of this team and nobody knows what the future holds for Kyle Lowry, which is why getting this 4th overall pick in the draft is huge for the Raptors. 

Kyle Lowry is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and after almost being traded at the trade deadline, there is a lot of speculation that he may not return to Toronto next season. With this being the case and the Raptors not having that impressive of a bench, adding a high-level prospect like they can now in this year’s draft is big news for them. 

With the 4th overall pick, the Raptors can target guys like Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs and maybe even guys like Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga, should they fall outside of the Top-3 in the 2021 NBA Draft.

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All four of these guys are franchise-altering talents and with the Raptors already having a core of high-level talents, adding one of these guys will ensure that this team will not have to go through any rebuild should guys like Kyle Lowry and Gary Trent Jr. leave in free agency. 

Moving up three spots from 7th overall to 4th overall is a big leap for the Raptors and should immediately help them get back to their winning ways during the 2021-22 season.