The Brooklyn Nets (24-51) are one of the teams that are looking to finish the season strong as head coach Jordi Fernandez and the coaching staff are evaluating the younger players on the team. From the team’s perspective, Brooklyn is hoping to see growth out of some of the lesser players, but the fans are also hoping for the best draft position possible.
As of this writing, the Nets are sixth in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery standings, meaning that they have a 37.2% chance of getting the first overall pick in the Draft, otherwise known as the chance to draft Duke forward Cooper Flagg. The teams ahead of Brooklyn in the standings are the Philadelphia 76ers (23-51), New Orleans Pelicans (20-54), Charlotte Hornets (18-55), Washington Wizards (16-58), and Utah Jazz (16-59).
At the moment, it seems like the Nets could have a chance to get to fifth in the standings before the season is over, but the 76ers have already ruled out four players for the rest of the season and have five other players ruled out for their matchup against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Brooklyn isn’t dealing with nearly as many injuries as Philadelphia, but the Nets have won just two of their last 10 games even with most of the roster available.
Sunday will be an interesting day for the Nets given that the 76ers and Raptors face each other along with the Pelicans and Hornets duking it out. If Philadelphia is able to find a way to beat Toronto, Brooklyn will be tied with the 76ers in the standings and if New Orleans emerges victorious from their game, the Pelicans will be that much closer to Brooklyn in the Lottery standings.
Either way, the Nets are concerned with trying to win as many games as they can down the stretch from the perspective of the players and coaches. However, when it comes to the franchise finding their next star to build around during this rebuild, Brooklyn could still have “competitive losses” that can encourage fans about the players on the roster without lowering the team’s chances of getting the first overall pick.
