KSR Today: Election Day, NBA Draft Lottery, Combine, Playoffs

Good morning, friends. It was a busy Monday here at the KSR Nashville Compound as I caught up after being on vacation for a week. Thankfully, we didn’t have any French hackers or huge stay-or-go news break while I was gone as has happened in the past. Shoutout to my awesome staff for running things smoothly while I enjoyed some rest and relaxation on Folly Beach. My senior dog Gatsby is especially appreciative and is finishing up her thank-you cards as we speak.

Before we get into UK sports, it’s Election Day in the Bluegrass. The Republican primary for Governor is the biggest race to keep an eye on today as Daniel Cameron, Kelly Craft, Ryan Quarles, Mike Harmon, Alan Keck, and others vie for the chance to face Gov. Andy Beshear this fall. In addition to various races for state executive offices, school boards, county clerks, city council, etc., there are wet/dry elections happening in Madison and Allen Counties. As someone who owns property on Barren River Lake, I’ll be watching the Allen County race closely and hoping the “Yes” votes come through so I can enjoy a margarita with my next meal at Rey San Jose.

When it comes to actual UK sports, things are kind of slow right now, with only the men’s golf team competing today (good luck to them in the NCAA Regional) However, there’s a big event happening in Chicago with major ramifications for next year’s basketball squad. Let’s start there.

The NBA Draft Lottery is tonight

If you like the NBA and ping-pong balls, tonight is your night. At 8 p.m. ET, the NBA Draft Lottery takes place on ESPN, which will set the order for next month’s draft. Of the 14 teams that missed the playoffs, Detroit, Houston, and San Antonio have the best odds of getting the No. 1 pick at 14%, followed by Charlotte (12.5%) and Portland (10.5%).

French star Victor Wembanyama is the overwhelming favorite to go first in the draft, but after that, things get interesting, with Brandon Miller (Alabama) and Scoot Henderson (G-League Ignite) both in the mix at No. 2 and the Thompson twins Amen and Ausar from Overtime Elite not far behind.

The lottery only matters for one former Kentucky player, Cason Wallace. Wallace is projected to go anywhere from No. 10 to No. 14 in most major mock drafts, so he’ll be watching closely tonight. Wallace, Oscar Tshiebwe, and Chris Livingston are all currently in Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine, which takes place through Thursday at DePaul’s Wintrust Arena.

Yesterday, the prospects went through testing and drills. Today, the focus is the lottery, but on Wednesday (2-6 p.m.) and Thursday (4-8 p.m.), you’ll be able to watch scrimmages on ESPN2. Needless to say, playing well will boost Livingston and/or Oscar’s stock, which could lead to them staying in the draft over returning to school. They have until May 31 to make that decision.

For a thorough rundown of what each Wildcat has to gain or lose this week in Chicago, I’ll direct you to Jack Pilgrim’s NBA Draft Combine primer from last night.

Game 1 of Lakers vs. Nuggets

The NBA Conference Finals tip off tonight starting with Game 1 in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Denver Nuggets, aka Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Wenyen Gabriel vs. Jamal Murray. When you add in Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro from the Heat, there are SIX former Wildcats in the NBA Conference Finals, which is pretty remarkable.

Denver’s a six-point favorite home at Ball Arena, where they are undefeated in the playoffs; however, the Nuggets have lost all seven playoff series against the Lakers, including the one in 2020 in the NBA bubble. The fun starts at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics vs. the Miami Heat, tips off tomorrow in Boston. On Monday, Bam Adebayo admitted that he didn’t see the end of the Celtics/76ers game on Sunday night because his mom wanted to watch Family Feud instead. I miss them both.

Adebayo said because it was Mother’s Day, he did not get to see the end of Celtics-76ers because his mother wanted to watch Family Feud.

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) May 15, 2023

Happy belated Mother’s Day to Marilyn Blount.

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Buc-ee’s is coming to Smiths Grove

Good news for those of you who travel down I-65 often. On June 5, Buc-ee’s will break ground on its second Kentucky location, in Smiths Grove just off I-65 outside Bowling Green. The popular gas station chain will occupy 53,471 square feet and offer 120 gas pumps. Smiths Grove will be the smallest U.S. city to have a Buc-ee’s. If you don’t recall the hysteria, the first Buc-ee’s in Kentucky opened in Richmond in April 2022.

My trips to Lexington and Danville are about to get significantly better.

Relive the 2022-23 Kentucky Basketball season through Rapid Reactions

The 2022-23 Kentucky Basketball season definitely had its highs and lows. KSR’s videographer Steven Peake compiled some clips from our postgame Rapid Reactions to sum up the rollercoaster of a season.

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Have you checked out KSR+?

With stay-or-go decisions still to be made and two BIG recruiting decisions coming this week from Cutter Boley and San Diego State transfer Keshad Johnson, now’s the time to check out KSR+. We’ve got fresh recruiting content daily from Jacob Polacheck, football deep dives from Adam Luckett (yesterday’s on Cutter Boley is a must-read), and plenty of scoop and conversation on KSBoard. Take advantage of our launch special — $10 flat until football season — to see what it’s all about.