Wizards land pick No. 18 in 2025 NBA Draft

The Washington Wizards got the best-case scenario from their trade deadline deal with the Memphis Grizzlies this season. The Grizzlies sent them a lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick along with Marcus Smart, and that selection will now be higher than expected.

They won the NBA’s tiebreaker coin flip on Monday, as they had the same regular season record (48-34) as the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors. This gives Memphis a higher pick that it’ll convey to Washington, as it could’ve been either No. 19 or 20. The non-lottery draft order is officially set, via ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel.

15) OKC (via MIA)
16) ORL
17) MIN (via DET)
18) WAS (via MEM)
19) BKN (via MIL)
20) MIA (via GSW)
21) UTA (via MIN)
22) ATL (via LAL)
23) IND
24) OKC (via LAC)
25) ORL (via DEN)
26) BKN (via NYK)
27) BKN (via HOU)
28) BOS
29) PHX (via CLE)
30) LAC (via OKC)

The Grizzlies were third in the Western Conference at the time of the trade, so the pick would’ve been near the end of the round if they had maintained that position. However, they then slid to eighth, firing head coach Taylor Jenkins in the process. Memphis could’ve kept the pick if it had lost both games in the Play-In Tournament, as it would’ve missed the playoffs and become a lottery team.

Fortunately for Washington, the Grizzlies beat the No. 10-seeded Dallas Mavericks 120-106 in the eighth-seed game on Friday after losing 121-116 to the Warriors in the seventh-seed vs. eighth-seed game, clinching a first-round playoff matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Meanwhile, the Wizards will wait until May 12 to find out what lottery pick they’ll draw. They could receive any selection in the 1-6 range, as they finished with the second-worst record (18-64) this season. They have a 14 percent chance to land No. 1, which is tied for the most in the league with the Utah Jazz (17-65) and the Charlotte Hornets (19-63). Those three teams are also tied for the best odds at a top-four pick at 52.1 percent.