The Denver Nuggets can't even play Ping Pong.

The long-floundering franchise defied mathematical odds Thursday night, tumbling to the third selection in the NBA draft lottery and ensuring that high school phenom LeBron James will not be leading a Nuggets revival.

Despite posting the league's most wretched record - tied with Cleveland - for the third time since 1991, Denver again failed to bag the No. 1 pick at the NBA's annual pingpong ball party.

Cleveland earned the right to keep James in state. The Akron, Ohio, native is the most heralded player to move from high school straight to the professional league.

Memphis jumped four spots in the selection order to land the No. 2 pick in the draft, but must turn it over to Detroit under terms of a prior trade.

"We're OK," said Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, who watched firsthand as NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik ripped open each team's envelope. "We got where we wanted to be. Did we get the first? No, but we got in the top three. That's all right with me."