NBA Draft Lottery Nearing as Playoffs Persists

Monday’s NBA Playoffs slate was a wild one.

In the early slot, the New York Knicks dethroned the Boston Celtics in Game 1. Boston led by as much as 20, taking an unbelievable 60 3-pointers, but cashing in on just 15 of those to let New York force an overtime. From there, the Knicks would simply make more plays, issuing the C’s their second loss of the postseason.

The late game was perhaps even better. The Thunder threw a first-half hay-maker to go up as much as 14, which was eventually whittled down by a gargantuan effort from MVP candidate Nikola Jokic. After some missed free throws, an Aaron Gordon go-ahead 3-pointer would help Denver snag a 1-0 lead themselves off just a few days rest.

While the postseason blares on, teams on the opposite side of the spectrum quietly wait for the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery to see if they’ll be granted players of a higher caliber.

Teams like the Jazz, Wizards and Hornets. New Orleans, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Even the Raptors and Spurs — with the seventh and eighth-best odds, respectively — are likely holding out hope they’ll jump to the top of the draft to nab the likes of Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and more.

Some teams lost as many as 60-plus games this season, with every single lottery team losing as much as 40. It's only worth it for the bottom group if they can land picks within the top-five, and a slide looms over each and every one.

Luckily, the lottery is less than a week away, so organization's need not wait much longer. The lottery will tip off at 6 p.m. CT on Monday, May 12 from Chicago, IL. Utah, Washington and Charlotte currently hold the shared 14% chancing at landing the No. 1 pick, though last year the Atlanta Hawks saw a nine-spot jump to No. 1.