How to watch NBA Draft Lottery 2025: Time, streaming options & more explored
With most of the teams no longer in contention for an NBA championship, the rest of the league has set its sights on the NBA draft instead. The 14 teams that didn't make the playoffs are projected to have the first 14 selections in this year's draft, unless one of those teams has traded its first-round pick already.
Other teams need the basketball gods to be on their side, as they could still keep their first-round pick depending on how high it is and the conditions of said trade.
But when is the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, and, more importantly, how does it work? Let's break it down.
NBA Draft Lottery 2025: Time and place
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will take place in Chicago on Monday, May 12. The event will tip off at 7 p.m. ET.
How to watch the NBA Draft Lottery 2025
ESPN will broadcast the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. Fans can also watch on the go by streaming it on Fubo.
How does the NBA Draft Lottery work
Per the NBA, 14 ping-pong balls numbered one through 14 will be placed in a standard lottery machine. The teams with the worst records in the regular season will have the highest odds of landing the highest picks.
There are 1,001 possible combinations each time four balls are drawn out of 14, regardless of the order of selections. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those combinations will be assigned and distributed among the participating lottery teams.
All 14 balls are then placed in the lottery ball and mixed for 20 seconds before the first ball is removed. The remaining ping-pong balls are shuffled again for another 10 seconds before the second ball is drawn, and they repeat the process two more times.
The team that has been assigned to the fourth ball will get the No. 1 pick, and the process is repeated to determine picks two through four. The remainder of the teams are then sorted depending on their regular-season record, from the worst record to the best one.
What teams will participate in the NBA Draft Lottery 2025
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will feature the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards from the East, and the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz from the West.
NBA Draft Lottery 2025: Top 3 team odds
- Utah Jazz (17-65): 14.0%
- Washington Wizards (18-64): 14.0%
- Charlotte Hornets (19-63): 13.0%
2025 NBA Draft: Top 3 prospects
While this ranking can change throughout the pre-draft process, the consensus top-three prospects at the time of writing are:
- Cooper Flagg - F, Duke
- Dylan Harper - G, Rutgers
- Ace Bailey - SF, Rutgers
