The 2025 NBA Playoffs begin Saturday. But the teams that were eliminated are already looking ahead to the 2025 NBA Draft, aka The Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes.
Which teams have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery? Here’s everything you need to know.
2025 NBA Draft Lottery
Date: Monday, May 12
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Odds to land the No. 1 pick
The 14 teams that do not make the playoffs have a chance to land the No. 1 pick. The teams that finished with the three-worst records — Utah, Washington and Charlotte — each have the highest odds (14%) at winning the No. 1 pick.
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Here are the odds for every team currently in the draft lottery, based on team records at the end of the regular season. Teams that finished the season with identical records will have their draft order determined by a random drawing.
1. Utah Jazz: 14%
2. Washington Wizards: 14%
3. Charlotte Hornets: 14%
4. New Orleans Pelicans: 12.5%
5. Philadelphia 76ers: 10.5%
The Sixers’ first-round pick is top-6 protected; if it falls between 7-14, it will go to Oklahoma City.
6. Brooklyn Nets: 9%
7. Toronto Raptors: 7.5%
8. San Antonio Spurs: 6%
9. Phoenix Suns: 4.5% or 3%
Suns finished with the same record as Trail Blazers.
The Suns’ first-round pick will go to the Houston Rockets.
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10. Portland Trail Blazers: 4.5% or 3%
Trail Blazers finished with the same record as Suns.
11. *Miami Heat: 2%
12. *Dallas Mavericks: 1.5% or 1.0%
Mavericks finished with the same record as Bulls.
13. *Chicago Bulls: 1.5% or 1.0%
Bulls finished with the same record as Mavericks.
14. *Sacramento Kings: 0.5%
The Kings’ first-round pick is top-12 protected; if it falls out of that range, it goes to Atlanta.
* The Heat, Bulls, Mavs and Kings are in the play-in tournament and could potentially make the playoffs.
How the NBA Draft Lottery works
The draft lottery determines the order of the first 14 picks. It takes place in a private room with NBA officials, representatives of participating teams, select media and the accounting firm Ernst & Young, which oversees the drawings, in attendance.
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For the drawings, 14 ping-pong balls (numbered 1 through 14) are dropped in a lottery machine. Before the lottery, 1,000 of a possible 1,001 combinations are assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams. A league representative randomly selects four balls, revealing a four-number combination.
From the NBA:
The drawing process occurs in the following manner: All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.
If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is selected. Also, if the one unassigned combination is drawn, the result is discarded and the balls are drawn again.
After the first four picks are determined, the remaining picks are based on regular-season records, in reverse order.
2025 NBA Draft Guide
Check out Kevin O’Connor’s latest mock draft, and read up on scouting reports for every single prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft Guide.