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Mar 29, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) celebrates with guard Kon Knueppel (7) during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the East Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Report: Kings Nearly Won NBA Lottery, Cooper Flagg Draft Rights

Originally posted on Sacramento Kings on SI
By Logan Struck | Last updated May 13, 2025 10:38 PM ET

With the 2025 NBA Draft just over a month away, 13 teams discovered their official draft positions in Monday's lottery drawing. In one of the craziest draft lotteries in NBA history, the Dallas Mavericks jumped up to grab the first-overall pick, but things could have gone much differently.

As NBA.com explains it, "The drawing uses 14 ping-pong balls, numbered 1 through 14. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams.

"...The team that has been assigned the combination of the four balls drawn from the machine will receive the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. The ping-pong balls are then placed back in the machine and the same process is repeated for the second through fourth picks."

The full 2025 NBA draft Lottery results ⭐

Where did your team land? pic.twitter.com/UjRZDQYF3I
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 12, 2025

Most of the time, the drawing usually comes down to a few different teams by the final ball is drawn for the first pick, but this year was much more hectic. According to The Athletic's Zach Lowe, there were still eight teams in contention for the first-overall pick before the fourth ball was drawn.

Lowe explained what happened in the lottery drawing room on Monday night, revealing that the Sacramento Kings, along with seven other teams, were just one ball away from landing the first-overall pick.

"If the last ball was a six, the Blazers win the lottery. If the last ball was a one, the Wizards win the lottery. If the last ball was a two, Pelicans win the lottery. If the last ball is a three, Brooklyn wins the lottery. If the last ball is a four, Toronto wins the lottery. If the last ball was a seven, Mavs. If the last ball is an eight, the Bulls win the lottery. If the last ball is a nine, the Kings win the lottery," Lowe said.

Out of every team though, the San Antonio Spurs were in the best position to win the lottery by the final ball.

"Here's the kicker. If the last ball is a five, a 12, or a 13, the Spurs win the lottery," Lowe finished.

The Kings went into Monday's lottery with the worst odds to land the first-overall pick with just a 0.8% chance, but by the final ball, they just needed the nine ball to shoot out of the machine.

If things could not get worse for Kings fans, now they know that they came just one ping pong ball away from jumping all the way to the first-overall pick and winning the rights to draft 18-year-old phenom Cooper Flagg. However, the Mavericks were the team that got lucky, and the Kings are left without a first-round pick after conveying the 13th selection to the Atlanta Hawks.

Despite being one of the worst NBA franchises over the past two decades, the Kings have not landed the top pick in the draft since 1989, when they selected Pervis Ellison. If any franchise deserves a lucky break, it would be the Kings, and a prospect like Cooper Flagg would have legitimately changed the trajectory of the organization.

This article first appeared on Sacramento Kings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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