The bulk of the 2024-25 NBA Draft order was determined on the final day of the NBA regular season. At that point, most of the teams that missed the playoffs were locked into their lottery slots while most of the teams that made it were locked into their actual draft positions. With eight teams still in the Play-In Tournament and a few more in the playoffs with inferior records to teams still fighting for their spots, though, there were a handful of things left to figure out.
Well, with Friday’s action now in the books, we have most of the 2025 draft order settled. We knew on Sunday that the three teams sharing the best odds for the No. 1 pick and the right to draft Cooper Flagg were the Jazz, Wizards and Hornets, but now, the end of the lottery is mostly in place as well.
Still to be determined are the tiebreakers. When two teams in the lottery are tied, they split the lottery odds of the two slots in half and share them. A random drawing then determines who gets the higher overall slot, which is where the teams are ordered after the top four are determined. When two playoff teams are tied, however, the league just holds a random drawing to determine who gets the better pick.
So what did we learn in the Play-In Tournament? The Bulls and Mavericks will split the lottery odds at No. 11 and No. 12, with a random drawing determining who winds up in each position. The same thing will occur at No. 13 and No. 14, but with a slight twist. Atlanta’s original pick belongs to San Antonio thanks to the Dejounte Murray trade. However, Atlanta gets Sacramento’s pick if it lands at No. 13 or later. A random drawing will figure out, in all likelihood, if that pick is No. 13 or No. 14. If it jumps into the top four, though, the Kings keep it.
Outside of the lottery, the Heat come in at No. 15 after making the playoffs. That sends their pick to Oklahoma City, as it was lottery-protected. Finally, Memphis making the playoffs sends its pick to Washington thanks to the Marcus Smart trade, which also included a lottery-protected choice. So, with all of that settled, here is where the NBA Draft order sits before our random drawing tiebreakers and the upcoming lottery.
*pick belongs to 76ers if 1-6, Thunder if 7-30
**pick belongs to Kings if 1-12, Hawks if 13-30
When is the NBA Draft Lottery?
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 12. That is when we will find out where Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and the rest of the top prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft will land. For now, we have a good chunk of the order determined.
Something you likely noticed is that barely any playoff teams control their own picks. Outside of the top 12, only the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics currently control the picks that originally belonged to them. That is a function of the all-in NBA we currently exist within. Most of those teams at the back end of the first round traded draft picks for veteran help at some point in the recent past. They’re now paying for that privilege.
All told, we are headed for a first round of the postseason in which more than half of the 30 picks in the first round could change hands before the draft even begins. Add all of the trading that inevitably comes during the draft itself and barely anybody outside of the lottery uses their own picks anymore. This order represents where we sit now, but when the dust settles, expect many more of these picks to change hands.
