Teams hoping for a high pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, including the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets, will find out their position during the official lottery reveal. The drawing is set to determine the top order of the draft.
The lottery results are determined through a private process held in Chicago and managed by Ernst & Young. The outcome is then announced publicly on ESPN, unveiling the selection order for the 2025 NBA Draft, scheduled for June 25-26. The announcement traditionally counts down the picks from 14th to the highly anticipated No. 1 spot.
Cooper Flagg, a standout prospect from Duke, is widely projected as the top overall pick in the 2025 draft and considered one of the most promising players in recent years. The teams with the three worst regular season records from 2024-25 – the Jazz, Wizards, and Hornets – each hold a 14% chance of winning the top overall pick and potentially selecting Flagg. The probability of winning the lottery gradually decreases for teams with better records. For instance, the New Orleans Pelicans have a 12.5% chance at the No. 1 pick, followed by the Philadelphia 76ers with a 10.5% chance.
Probability continues to decline by 1.5% for the next three teams in the inverse standings (Brooklyn, Toronto, and San Antonio). Further down, the Phoenix Suns have a 3.8% chance, although their pick is slated to go to the Houston Rockets, giving Houston the ninth-best odds in the lottery.
Situations involving pick conveyances can complicate the lottery outcome. For example, the Atlanta Hawks` first-round pick (which holds the 14th-best odds) is owed to the Spurs. However, Atlanta could still receive a lottery pick if the Sacramento Kings` top-12 protected first-round pick, which the Hawks own the rights to, jumps into the top four in the lottery drawing. Another example is Philadelphia`s pick, which is protected for the top six but will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside that range.
This year marks the seventh under the NBA`s updated lottery system, implemented in 2019. For those unfamiliar with the current rules, here is a detailed explanation.
When is the NBA Draft Lottery?
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery is scheduled for Monday, preceding Game 4 of the Eastern Conference playoff matchup between the Knicks and Celtics. The event will be broadcast on ESPN and available for streaming.
The list of team representatives attending the lottery drawing is expected to be released by the NBA closer to the date.
How the Lottery System Works
Prior to 2019, the team with the worst record had a 25% chance of winning the No. 1 pick, while the second and third-worst teams had 19.9% and 15.6% chances respectively. The revised system, approved in 2017, was designed to reduce the incentive for `tanking` by flattening the odds. Under the current format, the three teams with the poorest records all have an equal 14% chance of winning the lottery, with odds decreasing incrementally thereafter down to 0.5% for the team with the best record among the lottery participants.
The Selection Process
A drawing procedure is used to determine the first four picks in the NBA Draft. The remaining teams in the lottery (picks five through fourteen) will select in the inverse order of their 2024-25 regular season records.
The private drawing takes place with representatives from the NBA, participating teams, and the accounting firm Ernst & Young present.
The process involves using fourteen ping-pong balls, numbered 1 through 14, in a lottery machine. There are 1,001 possible four-ball combinations when drawing without replacement. All 14 balls are placed in the machine and mixed for 20 seconds before the first ball is drawn. After another 10 seconds of mixing, a second ball is drawn, and so on. The team assigned the resulting four-ball combination receives the No. 1 pick. This process is repeated to determine picks No. 2, 3, and 4.
More details on the specific combinations and assignments are provided by the NBA.
Draft Lottery Odds Overview
As the team with the worst record in 2024-25, the Utah Jazz hold a 14% chance to secure the top pick, identical to Washington, which had the second-worst record. The table below outlines the full odds for each team participating in the lottery to win the No. 1 pick and their chances of landing in the top four.
| TEAM | RECORD | WINNING % | TOP-FOUR PICK (%) | TOP OVERALL PICK (%) |
| Utah | 17-65 | 0.207 | 52.1% | 14.0% |
| Washington | 18-64 | 0.22 | 52.1% | 14.0% |
| Charlotte | 19-63 | 0.232 | 52.1% | 14.0% |
| New Orleans | 21-61 | 0.256 | 48.1% | 12.5% |
| Philadelphia-x | 24-58 | 0.293 | 42.1% | 10.5% |
| Brooklyn | 26-56 | 0.317 | 37.2% | 9.0% |
| Toronto | 30-52 | 0.366 | 31.9% | 7.5% |
| San Antonio | 34-48 | 0.415 | 26.3% | 6.0% |
| Phoenix-x | 36-46 | 0.439 | 17.3% | 3.8% |
| Portland | 36-46 | 0.439 | 16.9% | 3.7% |
| Dallas | 39-43 | 0.476 | 8.5% | 1.8% |
| Chicago | 39-43 | 0.476 | 8.0% | 1.7% |
| Sacramento-x | 40-42 | 0.488 | 3.8% | 0.8% |
| Atlanta-x | 40-42 | 0.488 | 3.4% | 0.7% |
x – Denotes pick may be conveyed to another team
- Philadelphia`s pick is protected for the top 6; otherwise, it goes to Oklahoma City.
- Phoenix`s pick will be conveyed to Houston.
- Sacramento`s pick is protected for the top 12; otherwise, it goes to Atlanta.
- Atlanta`s original first-round pick will be conveyed to San Antonio.
Top Prospects for the 2025 Draft Lottery
Player rankings can shift as the draft approaches, but based on current projections, here are some of the top prospects likely to be considered for lottery selections, according to Kyle Boone`s NBA Draft Big Board:
| RK | PLAYER | SCHOOL | YEAR | POS | POS RK | HT | WT |
| 1 | Cooper Flagg | Duke | Fr | SF | 1 | 6-9 | 205 |
| 2 | Dylan Harper | Rutgers | Fr | PG | 1 | 6-6 | 215 |
| 3 | Ace Bailey | Rutgers | Fr | SF | 2 | 6-10 | 200 |
| 4 | VJ Edgecombe | Baylor | Fr | SG | 1 | 6-5 | 180 |
| 5 | Tre Johnson | Texas | Fr | SG | 2 | 6-6 | 190 |
| 6 | Kon Knueppel | Duke | Fr | SF | 3 | 6-7 | 217 |
| 7 | Jeremiah Fears | Oklahoma | Fr | PG | 2 | 6-4 | 182 |
| 8 | Jase Richardson | Michigan State | Fr | SG | 3 | 6-3 | 185 |
| 9 | Kasparas Jakucionis | Illinois | Fr | PG | 3 | 6-6 | 205 |
| 10 | Khaman Maluach | Duke | Fr | C | 1 | 7-2 | 250 |
| 11 | Derik Queen | Maryland | Fr | C | 2 | 6-10 | 246 |
| 12 | Liam McNeeley | UConn | Fr | SF | 4 | 6-7 | 210 |
| 13 | Collin Murray-Boyles | S. Carolina | Soph | PF | 1 | 6-8 | 245 |
| 14 | Egor Demin | BYU | Fr | PG | 4 | 6-9 | 190 |
Jasper Hawthorne