Winners and losers from the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery

The tanking is over, the ping-pong balls have been drawn, the protected picks have been assigned and Cooper Flagg is likely going to be a member of the Dallas Mavericks. 

Here are the winners and losers from Monday's NBA draft lottery.

Winners

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks desperately needed some good news after the controversial Luka Doncic trade and a series of injuries that led to Dallas losing in the play-in tournament. Beating the odds and jumping to No. 1 in the lottery qualifies as great news and puts them in prime position to get Flagg, the Duke University standout who's the consensus top prospect in this draft.

Of course, that's assuming Dallas GM Nico Harrison doesn't trade Flagg for a player with better defense or better conditioning.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs were facing their last, best shot at a high pick this year to add to All-Star De'Aaron Fox and two straight Rookies of the Year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. They lucked out, moving up to No. 2 despite having only the eighth-worst record.

That gives them the chance to add Dylan Harper, the son of longtime NBA guard Ron Harper. Harper is similar Fox and Castle as a strong player who's great at getting to the rim and playing pick-and-roll, though he and Castle would have to improve their jump shots. Don't be surprised if having No. 2 and No. 14 (from the Atlanta Hawks) gives the Spurs ammunition for another blockbuster trade as well.

Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers needed their pick to land among the top six in order for them to keep it. The ping-pong balls cooperated, and they'll pick third in a strong draft next season. Like the Mavericks, they endured a year full of injuries that sidelined former MVP Joel Embiid and Paul George, both of whom were shut down for the season early.

The Sixers tried hard to tank down the stretch, and it paid off. Now, they'll be able to add young talent to an aging roster that desperately needs it.

Losers

Utah Jazz

When Danny Ainge took over the Utah Jazz at the end of 2021, he started building for the future. His first big moves were trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, then dealing two other starters in Royce O'Neale and Mike Conley. Last year, they were the worst team in the NBA, but they'll only pick fifth.

Utah has added six players picked in the first round since Ainge arrived, but none of them has emerged as a star. Now in a draft that has a clear top four prospects, Utah is picking fifth. The whole point of tanking is to secure elite talent. Are Jazz fans going to have to endure a fourth year of mediocrity as Ainge hopes for lottery luck again?

Washington Wizards

Second-worst record in the NBA. Sixth pick. The Wizards need star power. What they got is more uncertainty.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls got their top 10-protected first-round pick back in the trade that sent Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings and Fox to the Spurs. But after the lottery, the Bulls will pick 12th, meaning they'd have kept their pick anyway. Chicago will have a tough time becoming a contender relying solely on late-lottery picks.

To make matters worse, the Bulls lost a coin flip for 11th position in the lottery — to the winning Mavericks.

ESPN

ESPN rushed through the reveal of the picks, which robbed viewers of seeing disappointed representatives from teams like the Jazz and Wizards. It even misstated that the Sixers would lose their pick. 

All this hurrying just made time for a lackluster Shams Charania interview when what fans really want to see is unhappy executives.