The 2024-25 Sixers season was as disastrous and depressing as any campaign in the history of the organization. Luckily for an organization desperate for a source of optimism, that hellish campaign has netted the Sixers a lifeline.
The Sixers officially own the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
They entered Monday night’s 2025 NBA Draft Lottery with a 64.0 percent chance of keeping their pick at all, but jumped up from the fifth spot in the lottery standings and landed the No. 3 overall pick. They did not have enough luck on their side to land in position to select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick — that belonged to the Dallas Mavericks, of all teams — but they have successfully safeguarded their top-six protected first-round pick. The Sixers’ selection would have belonged to the Oklahoma City Thunder had the Sixers been jumped by multiple teams without moving up themselves.
Now that they have kept their 2025 first-round pick, the Sixers will owe their 2026 first-rounder to Oklahoma City with a top-four protection. That protection would roll over to 2027 if the pick does not convey yet again next year. If the pick does not convey in 2026 or 2027, the Sixers would instead send the Thunder a second-round pick.
The Sixers will have plenty of options, even with the expectation being that Flagg and Rutgers guard Dylan Harper will be off the board. As things stand now, the prospects which figure to be the strongest contenders when the Sixers are on the clock include Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, Baylor guard/wing V.J. Edgecombe and Texas guard/wing Tre Johnson.
Assuming the Sixers stick and pick, whichever prospect they choose will have a four-year contract with two team options that starts at eight figures:
| Year | Salary |
| 2025-26 | $11,108,880 |
| 2026-27 | $11,663,880 |
| 2027-28 (team option) | $12,219,720 |
| 2028-29 (team option) | $15,445,727 |
| Total | $50,438,207 |
In an ideal world, the Sixers could draft a player with an asset of this magnitude with no concerns about that player’s ability to fit alongside their current franchise cornerstones. But the Sixers’ two best long-term pieces right now are 24-year-old guard Tyrese Maxey and 21-year-old guard Jared McCain, and Flagg aside, the top of this draft is stacked with talent.
The early signal — as Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has publicly professed already in his joint exit interview with head coach Nick Nurse after the conclusion of the regular season last month — is that the Sixers will draft whichever prospect they believe has the greatest chance of long-term stardom, regardless of how they fit or do not fit within the context of the team’s current roster.
While coming close to winning the lottery and not doing so is disappointing, the Sixers are surely feeling nothing but immense relief at this point. To have gone through such a dreadful year only to watch the pick fall out of their hands would have been devastating and caused a jarring level of apathy among the fan base.
Now, the team has what Morey referred to as a valuable “tool” to help turn things around. This pick will not save the franchise’s fortunes on its own, but it could help the Sixers take a major step in the right direction.
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