How NBA Draft Lottery Works?
The NBA draft works in two stages. The lottery picks and then the actual draft. Yeah, it’s up to fate to decide which team will land the top pick, but there are still chances of the teams getting the number 1 overall pick and in 2025, the player projected for the position is Duke superstar Cooper Flagg.
While the actual selection of the 2025 NBA draft will take place on June 25 and 26, the lottery will be carried out on May 12. Results of the lottery will be conducted privately in Chicago and then shared publicly shortly thereafter on ESPN. The names of the teams will be called in reverse order from No. 14 down to No. 1. This could be possibly sleepless night for many GMs as the top picks of the NBA draft over the years have handed many teams their franchise players.
As per the standings and odds, three teams have 14% chances of landing the number 1 overall pick – the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets. Lottery odds decrease marginally, by 1.5% thereafter. So the next team up for the top pick is the New Orleans Pelicans with a 12.5% chance,e followed by the Philadelphia 76ers, who have a 10.5% chance of earning the top pick.
The Brooklyn Nets (9%), Toronto Raptors (7.5%) and San Antonio Spurs (6%) come next. The Phoenix Suns have handed their first-round pick to the Houston Rockets will have a 3.8% chance of landing the top pick. Atlanta Hawks also own a first-round pick via Sacramento (top-12 protected), while their own pick is traded to the Spurs.
This will be the seventh edition of the new Draft Lottery system in the league. Check out how the NBA Lottery Draft Works.
Also Read: 2025 NBA Draft Order Finalized With Tiebreaker Results Ahead of Lottery.
How Does the NBA Lottery Draft Work?
The new system, introduced in 2017 and revamped in 2019, provides three teams with the worst records a 14% chance of landing the top pick. This not only provides fair chances to the low-ranked teams to land top prospects from the available talent pool. Then the odds are reduced by 1.5% till down to 0.5% chances.
A total of fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine. If we do the math, there is a total of 1,001 possible combinations when the four balls (for the top four selections) are drawn. All 14 balls are placed into the lottery machine and mixed for 20 seconds before the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and another ball is drawn. The team with the assigned combination receives the No. 1 pick. That process is then repeated until the order for picks Nos. 2, 3 and 4 are set.
Previously, the draft lottery system awarded a 25% chance that the team with the worst record would win the No. 1 overall pick. Temas used to ‘tank’ for the top draft pick, raising concerns over fair play in the league.
When is the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery? Where to Watch 2025 NBA Draft Lottery?
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will take place Monday at 7 p.m. ET on May 12, before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference playoff showdown between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. The telecast of the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will be available on ESPN. Live streaming of the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will be available on fubo.
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