With one NBA title between them, three franchises enter the 2025 draft lottery with visions of a banner moment that leads to raising a Flagg.
Utah, Charlotte and Washington — the NBA champion in 1978 — all fell short of 20 wins and carry a 14 percent chance of winning Monday’s draft lottery. The undisputed top prize is Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the Naismith Player of the Year who has been compared to Kevin Durant for his ability to score effortlessly.
Depending on how the ping-pong balls bounce Monday night in Chicago, Flagg’s next stop should be known in the near future. The 2025 NBA Draft begins June 25.
The Jazz owned the NBA’s worst record (17-65) this season and picked 10th in 2024. The team with the 10th-best chances entering the draw last spring was Atlanta. The Hawks had a 3 percent chance to win the lottery but landed the No. 1 pick for the first time in the lottery era.
Utah has never won the lottery. Washington claimed the No. 2 overall pick in 2024. The Wizards haven’t picked No. 1 since 2010 (John Wall). Charlotte won the lottery in 1991 and selected UNLV’s Larry Johnson first overall. The Hornets came out of the 2024 lottery with the No. 6 pick.
New Orleans (21-61) has 12.5 percent odds to win and Philadelphia (10.5) percent is next, but the 76ers would owe the pick to Oklahoma City if it’s No. 7 or worse. The asset was part of the 2020 trade for Al Horford but is “top six” protected.
San Antonio has only a 6 percent chance to win the lottery and sits behind Brooklyn (9 percent) and Toronto (7.5) but the Spurs also have the rights to Atlanta’s pick. The Hawks have the lowest odds to claim the top overall selection among the league’s 14 non-playoff teams in the lottery but could receive a selection from Sacramento as payment to acquire Kevin Huerter in 2022. The Kings only retain their pick if it is among the top 12.
Beyond Flagg, the 2025 NBA Draft class features a buffet of freshman talent. Rutgers teammates Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey and Flagg’s fellow Duke stars Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach are viewed as lottery options along with Texas guard Tre Johnson, Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears and Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe.
Maluach, a 7-foot-2 center from Senegal, and Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakucionis (Lithuania) are the top-rated international players who played collegiately in the United States. French point guard Nolan Traore, 18, and Spanish small forward Hugo Gonzalez, 19, are contenders to be in the lottery mix.
Harper’s dad, Ron Harper, was the No. 8 pick in 1986 by Cleveland and was second in the NBA’s Rookie of the Year voting that season. He won five NBA championships.
Harper isn’t the only scorer with NBA bloodlines. Michigan State’s Jase Richardson, 19, is the son of Jason Richardson, the fifth overall pick in the 2001 draft to Golden State.
Here are the complete NBA draft lottery odds:
TEAM RECORD WIN% LOTTERY ODDS
Utah 17-65 .207 14.0%
Washington 18-64 .220 14.0%
Charlotte 19-63 .232 14.0%
New Orleans 21-61 .256 12.5%
Philadelphia* 24-58 .293 10.5%
Brooklyn 26-56 .317 9.0%
Toronto 30-52 .366 7.5%
San Antonio 34-48 .415 6.0%
Phoenix (to Houston via Brooklyn) 36-46 .439 3.8%
Portland 36-46 .439 3.7%
Dallas 39-43 .476 1.8%
Chicago 39-43 .476 1.8%
Sacramento^ 40-42 .488 0.8%
Atlanta (to San Antonio) 40-42 .488 0.7%
* This pick is top-six protected and otherwise goes to Oklahoma City
^ This pick is top-12 protected and otherwise goes to Atlanta
–Field Level Media
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