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Feb 17, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg (2) stands on the court prior to resuming play against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Wizards' Nerves are Palpable on Draft Lottery Announcement Day

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated May 12, 2025 12:35 PM ET

The NBA will formally announce the order in which the lottery contenders will select in this upcoming summer's draft tonight, delivered right before ESPN's Monday evening playoff double-header.

This is the night that the Washington Wizards have been waiting for. And this goes beyond the end of the regular season, or even this year. The franchise and its fans have long waited for that franchise centerpiece, and they have as good of a chance to get him tonight as they have in a long time.

The team enters the live order reading with the 14% chance to land the #1 pick, tied with the Utah Jazz and the Charlotte Hornets for the best top odds, as well as a guarantee at a pick in the top six due to their finishing with a bottom-two record this past season.

Good draft odds are only as valuable as the talent available, and the prizes at the top of this draft are the kind that have had Wizards fans all over the internet struggling to sleep for the last few days. Pure luck will determine if the team gets the #1 pick and the chance to bring top prospect Cooper Flagg to DC, a supercharged consolation prize in Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper, or a more creative selection in the #3-6 range.

Duke's Flagg is who just about every team has had circled on their draft boards for the majority of this past collegiate season, offering one of the most versatile games of any 2020s prospect we've seen.

Today is the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery as one team lands Cooper Flagg at No. 1:

Hornets: 14%
Jazz: 14%
Wizards: 14%
Pelicans: 12.5%
Sixers: 10.5%
Nets: 9%
Raptors: 7.5%
Spurs: 6.7%
Rockets (via Suns): 3.8%
Blazers: 3.7%
Mavericks: 1.8%
Bulls: 1.7%
Kings: 0.8%pic.twitter.com/oOjTYLWGGG
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) May 12, 2025

His overall package and potential as a franchise cornerstone is just what the team's been losing for since pulling the plug on the Bradley Beal era two years ago, with that restart giving them the best shot at up-and-coming prospects.

They didn't get to rebuilding quickly enough to get a good enough draft position for Victor Wembanyama, who still came this close to falling into Washington before San Antonio ended up with him in 2023. The 2023-24 regular season was their first as a true tank-show, and they ended up with the #2 overall pick in a class without any franchise-altering talent dangling at the top.

A little bit of luck in the Wizards' favor tonight could be just be the break they need to keep the team moving in the right direction. A stable, young star to make the young role guys better is how team building is done, and that's been what the team's been lacking for years. We're nearing a decade since former #1 pick John Wall had his last healthy season in Washington, while fellow blue chip draftee and All-Star Bradley Beal couldn't be that winning first option after Wall's departure.

The stakes for the team are about as high as they've been since Wall came to town in 2010, and everyone can feel it. They're one of the team's everyone is talking about when discerning who's most deserving of a lottery win, someone to save them from mediocrity after nearly a half-century of wading through the mud. It all comes down to tonight.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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