The Atlanta Hawks came into the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery with little hope of attaining the No. 1 overall pick with just a three percent chance of winning the lottery. But in a shocking turn of events, they did just that. And perhaps one reason the team got so lucky was the presence of former sideline reporter Elle Duncan, who was on the call for the event on Sunday afternoon.
Duncan notably got her start in the sports media world as first an intern at 790/The Zone radio station in Atlanta, eventually getting hired by WVEE, an Audacy-owned commercial radio station in Atlanta. During her time at WVEE, she contributed to both the Atlanta Falcons radio network on pre and post-game shows, and served as the Hawks sideline reporter.
She would of course go on to spend time at NESN in Boston before ultimately ending up at ESPN, where she has been since 2016.
This year’s NBA Draft Lottery, broadcasted on ABC, is the first that Duncan has been part of in terms of being an on-air host. Her presence was seemingly a positive for the Hawks, rising up through the projected lottery and obtaining the first overall pick in the draft.
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1789741562601111660
Understandably, she was quite happy about the Hawks surprisingly coming away with the top pick, hinting that her presence may have made the difference for her former team.
“I’m not saying that the girl that’s on the desk that’s from Atlanta doing her first lottery had anything to do with it,” said Duncan moments after the first pick was announced. “But I’m just saying…”
ESPN's Elle Duncan, who got her start as a sideline reporter for the Atlanta Hawks, on the Hawks winning the 2024 NBA Lottery.
"I'm not saying that the girl that's on the desk that's from Atlanta doing her first lottery had anything to do with it. But I'm just saying…" pic.twitter.com/0savtyDWag
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 12, 2024
Duncan later even joked that she felt that her background in Atlanta put her “professionalism” to the test.
It’s hard to fault Duncan for being happy about how the lottery turned out given her background. And who knows, maybe her presence really did give the team a bit of luck.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.