If you’ve ever wondered how the NBA Draft lottery works, you can cover you with all the breakdowns you need to know.
The 2025 NBA Draft will be coming soon. Fans are excited to see new players enter the NBA. In particular, the draft has been successful in the last few years.
This year there are stacked classes and are filled with some of the youngest prospects in recent memory. Players like Cooper Flag, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are all attracting a lot of attention.
But the 2025 NBA Draft class is as deep as some of the best in history. However, there is one important step before the team chooses the cornerstone of their future franchise.
The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 12th, 2025. This will determine the order in which teams have the worst record of the season in the NBA Draft.
But how exactly does lottery draft work? Which team has a real chance on the first overall pick? This is explained below.
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The NBA Draft is used as a means to ensure long-term parity between teams. So each year, teams with 14 worst records in the NBA are given odds based on their performance to land their first overall pick.
In fact, the NBA Draft Lottery is only for the first four overall picks. 5-14 remaining picks are assigned based on
Odds are assigned based on negative team performance. The more a team’s record is during the season, the better your chances of achieving the first overall pick.
All three worst teams have the same odds, with each passing team having a reduced odds. You can get a better understanding by looking at the chart below.
| Teams ranked based on records (descending order) | Percent odds on the first overall pick (Changes of odds for the 2024-25 season) |
| 1. Utah Jazz (17-65) | 14.0% |
| 2. Washington Wizard (18-64) | 14.0% |
| 3. Charlotte Hornets (19-63) | 14.0% |
| 4. New Orleans Pelican (21-61) | 12.5% |
| 5. Philadelphia 76ers (24-58) | 10.5% |
| 6. Brooklyn Net (26-56) | 9.0% |
| 7. Toronto Raptors (30-52) | 7.5% |
| 8. San Antonio Spurs (34-48) | 6.0% |
| 9. Houston Rockets (via Phoenix Suns) (36-46) | 4.5% (3.8%) |
| 10. Portland Trail Blazers (36-46) | 3.0% (3.7%) |
| 11. Dallas Mavericks (39-43) | 2.0% (1.8%) |
| 12. ChicagoBulls (39-43) | 1.5% (1.7%) |
| 13. Atlanta Hawks (via Sacramento Kings) (40-42) | 1.0% (0.8%) |
| 14. San Antonio Spurs (via Atlanta Hawks) (40-42) | 0.5% (0.7%) |
In situations where teams are tied to records, the odds are evenly divided, like the bottom six teams.
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Well, the next part is a bit difficult. The NBA Draft Lottery uses a traditional tumbler system. There are 14 balls, one representing each team at the bottom of the NBA.
However, draft lottery tickets are not chosen by choosing the ball. In fact, the NBA only selects the top four draft topics, with the rest being assigned based on records.
Instead, four out of the 14 balls are selected to determine the top four. Within this set there are 1,001 combinations of four balls.
Therefore, each team is assigned a finite set of combinations based on the probability of landing the first pick.
For example, the Utah Jazz has the worst odds of the year (14.0%), so 140 possible combinations are assigned.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs (via the Atlanta Hawks) usually have the 14th odds (0.5%), so five combinations out of 1,001 are assigned.
On lottery day, four combinations are chosen in reverse chronological order, and the top four overall picks are assigned. Between 5 and 14, picks are assigned based on the record of the worst team remaining.
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This year is one of the most exciting draft classes in recent memory. The unanimous first-wide pickcooper flag headlines, and this year’s class has some great players who can be the NBA corner tone.
Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe are just some of the biggest names heading into this year’s draft. Flagg stands out, but there are star-level players in almost every lottery position.
But which team will win the Cooper Flag sweepstakes? You’ll understand immediately.
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will be held in Chicago on May 12, 2025. The NBA Draft departs from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on June 25th, 2025.