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The Portland Trail Blazers will bring out all their good luck charms on Monday for the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, hoping to secure the top pick and, with it, Cooper Flagg.
Flagg is undoubtedly the top prospect in this year's draft; he would be an immediate culture-changing player who is versatile, can play multiple positions, and exhibits no clear weaknesses in his game.
He can create his shot and generate offense with an impressive face-up game. Additionally, he possesses one of the best motors in the draft, consistently battling for loose balls and aggressively rebounding on every possession.
More Portland Trail Blazers:Blazers' Potential Contract Options For Shaedon Sharpe Extension
The lottery will determine who secures the top spot, while the other 14 teams will focus on moving up as high as possible to select the best options after Flagg.
The Blazers have a 3.7 percent chance of securing the top selection, currently holding the 10th-best odds among the lottery teams.
Brandon Roy represented the Portland Trail Blazers at the 2023 Draft Lottery
— Blazers Lead (@BlazersLead) May 5, 2025
The Blazers moved up to the 3rd pick at that lottery
Brandon Roy wore #7 for the Blazers
There are 7 days till the 2025 Draft Lottery
THIS IS A SIGN pic.twitter.com/SZZNfb4Vdf
The Atlanta Hawks won the lottery last year from the same position, so it is still possible that Portland could sneak their way up to get Flagg, but it is much more likely they will choose elsewhere.
There is roughly a 20 percent chance that the team will finish below 10th place, which may not be as painful as expected, considering the lack of consensus regarding the draft prospects.
This suggests that teams are likely ranking players on their big boards quite differently, allowing interesting players to potentially fall within Portland's range.
More Portland Trail Blazers News:Blazers May Need to Choose Between Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons
The Blazers have a 16.9 percent chance of landing in the Top 4, which would be massive for the organization, as they would have their choice of the top prospects and would not have to worry about their guy getting chosen.
False. Our odds are 4.8%, and unfortunately, both are very real. https://t.co/NOWOe6O6CH
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) May 10, 2025
Cooper Flagg would fit well with Portland's core, potentially enabling the team to take the next step and acquire a two-way difference maker who complements Anfree Simons and Scoot Henderson.
In all likelihood, the Blazers' scouting team will be hard at work scouting the lower tier of draft prospects to find another key piece.
More Portland Trail Blazers News: Blazers' Toumani Camara Could Make Team History This Season
For all the latest news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.
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TODAY'S BEST
Kevin Durant Takes Subtle Shot At Stephen Curry; Reveals Why Warriors Fans Hate Him: 'They Will Never Recover'
Kevin Durant typically has no filter when interacting with fans online. But this time, while answering fan questions on X, Durant inadvertently ended up taking a shot at Stephen Curry. When a fan asked him why he thinks Warriors fans hate him, he seemingly pointed at Curry's fans. "Them finals MVPs, they will never recover," said Durant in response. One of the biggest debates for Stephen Curry's legacy had been that until 2022, he hadn't won a Finals MVP award despite winning three NBA championships before that. In 2015, Andre Iguodala received the Finals MVP award instead of Curry, and in 2017 and 2018, Kevin Durant was awarded the Finals MVP, and not Curry. Therefore, Durant seems to believe that since he won two Finals MVPs over Curry, loyal Warriors fans who love Curry started criticizing Durant. This planted the seed that developed into Warriors fans disliking Durant, despite him winning two titles with them. Let's take a look at Durant and Curry's performance in 2017 and 2018 to see if Durant was really better than Curry in those two seasons' Finals runs against the Cavaliers. In the 2017 NBA Finals, Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in five games played. He shot 55.6% from the floor and 47.4% from beyond the three-point line. In the same year, Curry averaged 26.8 points, 9.4 assists, and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 44% from the field and 38.8% from beyond the arc. In the 2018 NBA Finals, Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists as the Warriors swept the Cavaliers. He shot 52.6% from the field and 40.9% from beyond the three-point arc. Meanwhile, Curry averaged 27.5 points, 6.8 assists, and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 40.2% from the field and 41.5% from beyond the three-point line. In both seasons, it is evidently clear that Durant contributed a lot more than Curry in almost every aspect and hence was justified in being awarded the two Finals MVP awards. However, since Curry ended up not winning the Finals MVP award in four consecutive visits to the NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018, his fans unfairly blamed Kevin Durant for stealing the award from him. Curry and Durant have a lot of mutual respect, but his fans evidently drove Durant out of the Warriors. According to NBA Insider Marc Spears, the Warriors fans regularly gave Curry MVP chants, and that did not sit right with Durant until very late with the Warriors. Spears hinted that these chants made Durant feel like Warriors fans did not fully embrace him. If Warriors fans did not criticize Durant as much as they did, maybe Durant could have made a return to the Warriors now instead of joining the Rockets? The world of possibilities and "what-ifs" here is endless.
Rasmus Andersson Turns Down Huge Long-Term Offer from an NHL Team
Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson is entering the final year of his six-year, $4.55 million AAV contract, and uncertainty surrounds his future. Speaking with Sweden’s Expressen, Andersson shot down false rumors about where he’s willing to go, and revealed he turned down a lucrative long-term offer from another NHL team. All of this took place roughly six weeks ago, says the blueliner. He cited family reasons as to why he’s being particular about his next move. Still, as picky as he might be, rumors he’s only willing to go to Vegas are not true. “But I have not given Calgary a team, that I only want to play with one team,” he said. “That is not true…” He did get an offer from another team, likely not the Golden Knights. “I wasn’t keen on moving my family there and signing a long-term contract,” Andersson explained, adding that he provided the Flames with a list of teams he’d consider signing with if traded. However, the team that offered him a deal wasn’t on that list. He explained, “I communicated that decision to Calgary. I said if you want to trade me, this is the number of teams I can think of signing for. But this wasn’t one of them.” The Flames and Andersson Aren’t Talking Any Longer Talks with Calgary have since gone silent. Speculation is that he’s not heard about a trade option or extension in over a month. Whether the Flames have stopped looking for now, or teams haven’t lined up with trade offers, it sounds like nothing is imminent. All that said, Andersson is expected to draw significant trade interest before the 2026 deadline if an extension isn’t reached. His situation will be one of Calgary’s most closely watched storylines this season.
Atlanta Dream Coach Has Strong Words for Brittney Griner on Sunday
The Atlanta Dream returned one of their most prized possessions, Brittney Griner, for a matchup against the Phoenix Mercury. Griner had missed three straight games ahead of the team's matchup against Phoenix. She was working through a neck injury that kept her sidelined, joining Rhyne Howard as another Dream star to be dealt an unfortunate injury. After missing three straight games, Griner returned to the lineup to play her former team, helping Atlanta earn a 74-66 victory over the Mercury. Atlanta Dream head coach Karl Smesko discussed the return of Griner after the game, mentioning that she had a great performance against one of the best teams in the WNBA. "I thought BG was great," Smesko said. "She was moving great. She looked really good out there. Defensively, she was excellent. She was controlling the point. I thought really good first game back for her." Griner finished the win over the Phoenix Mercury with two points, two rebounds and one assist. She capped off the night playing 13 minutes in her first game back with the Atlanta Dream. Griner is currently playing in her first season with the Dream, looking to help lead Atlanta to a WNBA title alongside stars Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray. While the Dream have dealt with several injuries and setbacks during the season, they have climbed up the league standings, holding the No. 3 slot in the entire WNBA. Throughout her first season with the Dream, Brittney Griner has posted 10.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.
Vikings' potential breakout star suffers 'significant' injury on controversial play
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Rondale Moore cannot catch a break. Moore was carted off the field after he suffered what Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell described as a "pretty significant" injury during Saturday night's preseason game against the Houston Texans. The injury occurred as Moore was being tackled by Texans linebacker Jamal Hill on the sideline during a punt return play. O'Connell said the play had some characteristics of a hip-drop tackle, which is a form of tackling that was banned by the NFL before last season. Hill dove at Moore and dragged the receiver to the ground. Moore's left leg got caught awkwardly underneath him and was dragged, which apparently resulted in a serious injury. The NFL will have to determine whether the play met the criteria for a hip-drop tackle. The Arizona Cardinals drafted Moore in the second round out of Purdue in 2021. Moore had 54 catches as a rookie and showed flashes of playmaking ability across three seasons with the Cardinals. He was then traded to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for quarterback Desmond Ridder prior to last season. Moore has had nothing but bad luck since. He suffered a torn ACL in training camp with the Falcons and missed the entire 2024 season. He then signed with the Vikings as a free agent in March, and it sounds like he is now in danger of missing all of 2025 as well. Many believed the 25-year-old Moore was poised to play a big role in Minnesota's offense, especially after a different Vikings wide receiver was suspended for the first three games of the season. That no longer appears to be a possibility.
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