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The NBA playoffs are in full swing, and with a new season on the horizon, the draft process begins tonight with the Draft Lottery.
The Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks in the upcoming draft. The 14 non-playoff teams are eligible for selection tonight. The lottery in particular will determine the first four picks in the NBA Draft, and the three lowest-finishing teams in the league all have a 14% chance at winning the first pick.
From there, the rest of the first 14 picks will be determined in inverse order of the lottery teams’ regular-season records.
How does it work?
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. There’s a meticulous timed process that ends with the top four picks being determined.
The team to land the first overall pick will likely end up drafting Duke University’s Cooper Flagg.
What time is the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery?
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery begins at 7 p.m. ET tonight, May 12. The draft lottery will air live from McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.
What channel is the NBA Draft Lottery on?
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery is on ESPN.
How to watch the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery for free:
If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to watch the Savannah Bananas on TV. Our favorite live option is DIRECTV, which includes ESPN in its signature CHOICE package ($79.99/month for three months) or its MySports Genre Pack ($69.99/month).
2025 NBA Draft Lottery odds:
Per the NBA, the odds of these 14 teams winning the first overall pick are as follows:
| Utah Jazz | 14.0% |
| Washington Wizards | 14.0% |
| Charlotte Hornets | 14.0% |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 12.5% |
| Philadelphia 76ers (may be converted to Oklahoma City) | 10.5% |
| Brooklyn Nets | 9.0% |
| Toronto Raptors | 7.5% |
| San Antonio Spurs | 6.0% |
| Phoenix Suns (to Houston via Brooklyn) | 3.8% |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 3.7% |
| Dallas Mavericks | 1.8% |
| Chicago Bulls | 1.7% |
| Sacramento Kings (may be converted to Atlanta) | 0.8% |
| Atlanta Hawks (to San Antonio) | 0.7% |
2025 NBA Draft key dates:
- May 11-18: NBA Draft Combine
- June 15: NBA Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline
- June 25: 2025 NBA Draft First Round
- June 26: 2025 NBA Draft Second Round
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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Writer/Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping and New York Post’s streaming property, Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on each streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. Prior to joining Decider and New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews
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