Where will Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg be playing next season?
The Washington Wizards, who last had the No. 1 pick in 2010, can picture Flagg in their lineup alongside Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington – and they envision becoming the next Houston Rockets – a team built around quality young players and savvy veterans.
The Utah Jazz have never had the No.1 overall pick, and Utah’s front office led by Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik would love to win the draft lottery. They are sending co-owner Ashley Smith to Monday’s NBA draft lottery for good luck.
The Charlotte Hornets, who haven’t had the No. 1 overall pick since taking Larry Johnson first in 1991, will enter its second season with Charles Lee as coach and Jeff Peterson as executive vice president of basketball operations as they try to improve.
Which teams needs Flagg the most?
Utah (17-65), Washington (18-64) and Charlotte (19-63) are going through major rebuilds, could use a player like Flagg to accelerate a turnaround and have the best odds to win the lottery. Brooklyn, Toronto, Philadelphia and New Orleans need help, too.
Or will a longshot get lucky (say San Antonio which pictures Victor Wembanyama alongside Flagg) and win the NBA draft lottery?
We will find out where each team picks in the draft on June 25-26 when the NBA conducts its annual draft lottery Monday.
Here is what you need to know about the draft lottery:
When is the NBA draft lottery?
Monday, May 12, 7 p.m. ET
How to watch the NBA draft lottery
TV: ESPN, various streaming services
How does the draft lottery work?
According to the NBA, “Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams.
“All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.”
The remaining lottery teams are slotted in order of their draft odds.
Utah can’t slide any lower than No. 5, Washington no lower than No. 6, Charlotte no lower than No. 7 and New Orleans no lower than No. 8. After that, if a team doesn’t move into the top four via ping-pong ball selection, it can’t move up any higher than its draft lottery odds position. For example, if Brooklyn, with the sixth-best odds to get a top-four pick doesn’t move into the top four, it can’t land a pick any better than No. 6.
The lottery is conducted in a separate room just before ESPN’s draft lottery show. Select media, NBA officials and representatives of the participating teams and the accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance in the room for the drawings.
2025 NBA draft lottery odds
Percent chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft:
Utah Jazz: 14%
Washington Wizards: 14%
Charlotte Hornets: 14%
New Orleans Pelicans: 12.5%
Philadelphia 76ers: 10.5% (pick may be conveyed to Oklahoma City if it falls outside of the top six)
Brooklyn Nets: 9%
Toronto Raptors: 7.5%
San Antonio Spurs: 6%
Phoenix Suns: 3.8% (Pick to Houston via Brooklyn)
Portland Trail Blazers: 3.7%
Dallas Mavericks: 1.8%
Chicago Bulls: 1.7%
Sacramento Kings: 0.8% (pick may be conveyed to Atlanta if it’s not in the top 12)
Atlanta Hawks: 0.7% (pick to San Antonio)
The three teams with the best odds – the Jazz, Wizards and Hornets – all have a 52.1% chance of landing a top-four pick.
Who is the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA draft?
Cooper Flagg, who played his freshman season at Duke and was the national player of the year, has been at the top of draft boards for a year.
How can Cooper Flagg help a team?
The do-it-all young star led the Blue Devils in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Flagg has outstanding footwork, especially in the low post. He can use either hand on shots in the paint, knows how to run plays, can hit catch-and-shoot 3s and is an active weakside defender. Flagg, who added more muscle since the start of the year, is a physical player who initiates contact, is confident and plays with force when necessary. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks and shot 48.1% from the field, 38.5% on 3-pointers and 84% on free throws.
Who are the other projected top picks in the NBA draft?
Rutger’s Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe, Texas’ Tre Johnson, Duke’s Kon Knueppel and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears are expected to go in the top 10 in USA TODAY’s NBAmockdraft.
NBA draft lottery simulator results
Using tankathon.com’s draft lottery simulator, this is what the draft lottery results could look like:
1. Washington
2. Utah
3. New Orleans
4. Philadelphia
5. Charlotte
6. Brooklyn
7. Toronto
8. San Antonio
9. Phoenix
10. Portland
11. Dallas
12. Chicago
13. Sacramento (pick will go to Atlanta)
14. Atlanta (pick will go to San Antonio)