NBA Draft Lottery Preview: Everything You Need To Know

CHICAGO – The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery is almost here, and 14 teams hope to beat the odds and claim the top overall pick in the upcoming June draft.

If you want a lottery breakdown, TV information, or are curious where your favorite team currently sits, all information can be found here.

folks,,, we’re one day away 🤞#NBADraftLottery | #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/OWRRClVdRZ

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 11, 2025

How Does The NBA Draft Lottery Work?

During the NBA Draft Lottery, the teams that own picks 1-14 are assigned a four-digit number combination that will help determine where they select on draft night.

Each team is assigned a specific number of combinations that coincide with their odds of winning the top overall pick, with the league’s three worst teams each owning 14 percent of the 1,001 combinations, and the remaining 11 teams assigned a gradually decreasing number of lottery combinations.

The lottery process is held four times to determine the top four picks, after which selections 5-14 are assigned to non-lottery winners according to their regular season record from worst to best.

Ties have been broken by the league. Official pre-Lottery two round order is updated: https://t.co/FXkXbE02qc https://t.co/BNBDMWJuBN pic.twitter.com/D8Ids0uEZY

— Tankathon.com (@tankathon) April 22, 2025

The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets had the three worst records in the NBA this season, and each owns a 14 percent chance of landing the top overall pick.

The three teams each have a 52.1 percent chance of landing one of the top four selections, and a 47.9 percent chance of falling to the fifth pick or lower.

Since the lottery only determines the top four selections, teams can fall no further than four spots below their end-of-season positioning.

Thus, the league-worst Jazz can fall no further than fifth, the Wizards can fall no further than sixth, the Hornets can fall no further than seventh, and so on.

Odds For The No. 1 Overall Pick

1. Utah Jazz (14.0 percent)
2. Washington Wizards (14.0 percent)
3. Charlotte Hornets (14.0 percent)
4. New Orleans Pelicans (12.5 percent)
5. Philadelphia 76ers (10.5 percent)
6. Brooklyn Nets (9.0 percent)
7. Toronto Raptors (7.5 percent)
8. San Antonio Spurs (6.0 percent)
9. Phoenix Suns (3.8 percent)
10. Portland Trail Blazers (3.7 percent)
11. Dallas Mavericks (1.8 percent)
12. Chicago Bulls (1.7 percent)
13. Sacramento Kings (0.8 percent)
14. Atlanta Hawks (0.7 percent)

One last look at the #NBADraftLottery odds before the ping pong balls do the magic in Chicago tomorrow.

Shoutout to @tankathon 🤝 pic.twitter.com/UhKTorz32X

— Chandler Holt (@CHoltSports) May 11, 2025

How To Watch 2025 NBA Draft Lottery

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 12 in Chicago on the second day of the NBA Combine.

The actual lottery is held in private with representatives from the 14 teams and members of the media. The results of the draft lottery will be revealed on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. EST on May 12.

Fans can stream the draft lottery on Watch ESPN, or listen to our full NBA Draft Lottery reaction show on 97.5 the KSL Sports Zone and the KSL Sports app.

Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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