The NBA is in the thick of the postseason right now, but that doesn’t mean the eliminated teams are out of the picture entirely. On Monday, the league will hold its annual Draft Lottery in Chicago to determine who will earn the top picks in June’s NBA Draft.
As always, 14 ping pong balls are placed in a lottery machine numbered one through 14. The machine then spits out four balls. There are 1,001 possible combinations of those numbers, and each combination is assigned to a different team in the lottery based on their record from the 2024-25 season. The team that has the first four-number combination picks first. The process is repeated three more times to determine who picks second, third and fourth.
After that, the order is based on record. Picks 5-14 all originate with non-playoff teams. Playoff teams pick from 15-30. The second round is then based entirely on record, though in a few cases, the exact order has not yet been determined as they will be the inverse of where the lottery sends two tied teams in the first round.
In other words, we know most of the 2025 NBA Draft order as of right now. The rest will be determined on Monday. So for now, here is the order we have.
Cooper Flagg is, obviously, the main prize of the 2025 class, but he’s far from the only star available. Rutgers guard Dylan Harper is widely expected to go No. 2 overall. After that, it’s a bit of a mystery. Players like Ace Bailey out of Rutgers, VJ Edgecombe out of Baylor, Jeremiah Fears from Oklahoma and Tre Johnson out of Texas are all possible candidates, but this is a draft class defined by depth as much as star power.
There are talented players available throughout the class, so regardless of where a team ultimately picks, it should have a chance at landing a meaningful contributor.
2025 NBA Draft Lottery odds
Odds to have No. 1 pick
- Utah Jazz (17-65) regular-season record): 14%
- Washington Wizards (18-64): 14%
- Charlotte Hornets (19-63): 14%
- New Orleans Pelicans (21-61): 12.5%
- Philadelphia 76ers (24-58): 10.5%
- Brooklyn Nets (26-56): 9%
- Toronto Raptors (30-52): 7.5%
- San Antonio Spurs (34-48): 6%
- Houston Rockets (pick via Phoenix Suns): 3.8%
- Portland Trail Blazers (36-46): 3.7%
- Dallas Mavericks (39-43): 1.8%
- Chicago Bulls (39-43): 1.7%
- Sacramento Kings (40-42): 0.8%
- San Antonio Spurs (pick via Atlanta Hawks): 0.7%
2025 NBA Draft order
Picks 1-14 will be determined by the lottery on Monday night.
| Pick number | Team |
|---|---|
|
1. |
TBD |
|
2. |
TBD |
|
3. |
TBD |
|
4. |
TBD |
|
5. |
TBD |
|
6. |
TBD |
|
7. |
TBD |
|
8. |
TBD |
|
9. |
TBD |
|
10. |
TBD |
|
11. |
TBD |
|
12. |
TBD |
|
13. |
TBD |
|
14. |
TBD |
|
15. |
|
|
16. |
|
|
17. |
|
|
18. |
Washington Wizards (via Memphis Grizzlies) |
|
19. |
Brooklyn Nets (via Milwaukee Bucks) |
|
20. |
Miami Heat (via Golden State Warriors) |
|
21. |
Utah Jazz (via Minnesota Timberwolves) |
|
22. |
Atlanta Hawks (via Los Angeles Lakers) |
|
23. |
|
|
24. |
Oklahoma City Thunder (via Los Angeles Clippers) |
|
25. |
Orlando Magic (via Denver Nuggets) |
|
26. |
Brooklyn Nets (via New York Knicks) |
|
27. |
Brooklyn Nets (via Houston Rockets) |
|
28. |
|
|
29. |
Phoenix Suns (via Cleveland Cavaliers) |
|
30. |
Los Angeles Clippers (via Oklahoma City Thunder) |
| —- | Second round |
|
31. |
Minnesota Timberwolves (via Utah Jazz) |
|
32. |
Boston Celtics (via Washington Wizards) |
|
33. |
Charlotte Hornets |
|
34. |
Charlotte Hornets (via New Orleans Pelicans) |
|
35. |
|
|
36. |
Brooklyn Nets |
|
37. |
Detroit Pistons (via Toronto Raptors) |
|
38. |
San Antonio Spurs |
|
39/40. |
Toronto Raptors (via Portland Trail Blazers) |
|
39/40. |
Washington Wizards (via Phoenix Suns) |
|
41. |
Golden State Warriors (via Miami Heat) |
|
42/43. |
Sacramento Kings (via Chicago Bulls) |
|
42/43. |
Utah Jazz (via Dallas Mavericks) |
|
44/45. |
Oklahoma City Thunder (via Atlanta Hawks) |
|
44/45. |
Chicago Bulls (via Sacramento Kings) |
|
46. |
Orlando Magic |
|
47. |
Milwaukee Bucks (via Detroit Pistons) |
|
48. |
Memphis Grizzlies (via Golden State Warriors) |
|
49. |
Cleveland Cavaliers (via Milwaukee Bucks) |
|
50. |
New York Knicks (via Memphis Grizzlies) |
|
51. |
Los Angeles Clippers (via Minnesota Timberwolves) |
|
52. |
Phoenix Suns (via Denver Nuggets) |
|
53. |
Utah Jazz (via Los Angeles Clippers) |
|
54. |
Indiana Pacers |
|
55. |
Los Angeles Lakers |
|
56. |
Memphis Grizzlies (via Houston Rockets) |
|
57. |
Orlando Magic (via Boston Celtics) |
|
58. |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
|
59. |
Houston Rockets (via Oklahoma City Thunder) |
*pick goes to Philadelphia if 1-6 and Oklahoma City if 7-9
**pick goes to Atlanta if 1-12 and Sacramento if 13-14
First order of business: The draft only has 59 total picks because the New York Knicks forfeited their pick because of a 2022 tampering investigation. That investigation found that the Knicks “violated league rules governing the timing of this season’s free agency discussions” in order to sign Jalen Brunson. Considering the success they’ve had with Brunson, they likely aren’t shedding any tears over the lost pick.
As you surely see, most of the picks in the 2025 NBA Draft have been traded at least once. So, who has the most picks? That would be the Brooklyn Nets, who pick four times in the first round and a fifth time in the second. Utah, with four picks, isn’t far behind. All of this can and almost certainly will change during the draft, when pick trades, especially in the second round, are frequent.
The 2025 NBA Draft will be held in New York shortly after the NBA Finals. The event is split across two days, with the first round coming at the Barclays Center on June 25 and the second following on June 26.
