Apr 2, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Anthony Davis (23) reacts after making a free throw during the second half in the finals of the 2012 NCAA men

The 21-45 New Orleans Hornets earned the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery. They came into the lottery holding the fourth highest probability (13.7%) behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats.

Consensus No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis will most likely join Eric Gordon, Jarrett Jack and Chris Kaman to create a core that New Orleans hopes will take them as far, if not farther, than the 2007-08 Hornets who took the San Antonio Spurs to seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals.

The rest of the lottery results follow:

1. New Orleans (21-45)
2. Charlotte (7-59)
3. Washington (20-46)
4. Cleveland (21-45)
5. Sacramento (22-44)
6. Brooklyn* (22-44)
7. Golden State (23-43)
8. Toronto (23-43)
9. Detroit (25-41)
10. New Orleans (21-45)
11. Portland (28-38)
12. Milwaukee (31-35)
13. Phoenix (33-33)
14. Houston (34-32)

* Top three-protected pick; belongs to Portland

Apr 26, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; A fan holds up a sign during the second half of the Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks game. The New York Knicks defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 104-84 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

Hope: It’s an incredibly powerful thing. This singular hope, the hope that their favorite team will be fortunate enough to land the next LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan is what drives the fans of perenially losing teams to the lottery. The NBA Draft Lottery — even though giving teams incentive to keep losing excessively rather than improving incrementally is inherently flawed — brings hope to 14 different fan bases.

Charlotte Bobcats fans know the sting of losing and, if everything goes according to the percentages, they will begin the arduous process of building a successful, long-lasting foundation around consensus No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis.

1. Charlotte
Lottery odds: 25.0%

2. Washington
Lottery odds: 19.9%

3. Cleveland
Lottery odds: 13.8%

4. New Orleans
Lottery odds: 13.7%

5. Sacramento
Lottery odds: 7.6%

6. Brooklyn
Lottery odds: 7.5%

7. Golden State
Lottery odds: 3.6%

8. Toronto
Lottery odds: 3.5%

9. Detroit
Lottery odds: 1.7%

10. New Orleans
Lottery odds: 1.1%

11. Portland
Lottery odds: 0.8%

12. Milwaukee
Lottery odds: 0.7%

13. Phoenix
Lottery odds: 0.6%

14. Houston
Lottery odds: 0.5%