NBA Draft Lottery 2025: A Beacon of Hope for Lottery Teams

The NBA draft lottery, a fixture of the league’s calendar for nearly four decades, serves as a critical mechanism for determining the draft order each year. Its annual unveiling, strategically timed amidst the excitement of the conference semifinals, provides a much-needed boost for the fan bases of teams that fell short of the playoffs. The lottery injects a dose of optimism into even the most discouraging situations.

As the 2025 NBA draft lottery approaches, thirteen teams are harboring dreams of landing the coveted No. 1 pick, and the opportunity to select a potential franchise-altering player like Cooper Flagg. Within the complex system of ping pong balls and probabilistic calculations, lies the promise of a brighter future for these franchises.

The draft lottery acts as a great equalizer, a mechanism the NBA employs to maintain fan engagement throughout the league. It provides a tangible incentive for teams and their supporters to remain invested, even when championship aspirations are out of reach. The possibility of securing a top draft pick can reignite hope and generate excitement for the upcoming season.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the NBA’s adoption of the lottery system to determine the No. 1 pick and subsequent draft order. The system debuted in 1985, a year when Patrick Ewing was the highly sought-after prospect. Over the years, the lottery has undergone several revisions aimed at refining its fairness and effectiveness.

The most recent adjustments to the lottery system were implemented ahead of the 2019 draft, with the primary goal of discouraging teams from intentionally losing games, a practice known as "tanking." These changes involved modifying the odds distribution for the top lottery positions.

Last year’s draft lottery saw an unexpected outcome, with the Atlanta Hawks defying the odds to secure the No. 1 pick, despite having only a 3% chance of winning. The Hawks then selected French forward Zaccharie Risacher with their top selection.

Here’s a comprehensive overview of the 2025 NBA draft lottery, including key details such as the date, time, broadcast information, and the odds for each participating team.

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2025 NBA Draft Lottery Details

The 2025 NBA draft lottery is scheduled to take place on Monday, May 12, in Chicago. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

Lottery Mechanics

The NBA draft lottery determines the selection order for the first 14 picks of the NBA draft. A random drawing is conducted to determine the first four picks, using 14 ping pong balls numbered 1 through 14 in a lottery machine.

The remaining lottery teams are then assigned draft positions based on their regular-season records from the 2024-25 season, with the team having the worst record selecting fifth overall, and so on.

There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14. However, only 1,000 of those combinations are assigned to the 14 NBA lottery teams. The remaining combination is disregarded and redrawn.

Since the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, the system ensures that the team with the worst record does not fall any lower than the No. 5 pick. The league also equalized the odds for the three teams with the worst regular-season records, giving each a 14% chance of winning the lottery.

Watch the Lottery

The 2025 NBA draft lottery will be available to watch on ESPN, and streaming via services such as Fubo.

Team Odds and Considerations

• Philadelphia’s 2025 first-round pick will be conveyed to the Oklahoma City Thunder if the selection falls outside the top six in the draft order.

• Houston acquired the Phoenix Suns’ 2025 first-round pick with no protections via a pick swap with Brooklyn.

• Sacramento will convey its 2025 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks if the selection falls outside the top-12 in the draft order.

• San Antonio acquired the Atlanta Hawks’ 2025 first-round pick with no protections in the 2022 Dejounte Murray trade.

The NBA draft lottery remains a captivating event, offering hope and excitement to lottery teams and their fans. It serves as a reminder that anything is possible, and that even the most challenging situations can be transformed with a little bit of luck and strategic planning.