Story by
Mavericks, Nico Harrison strike gold in NBA draft lottery. Wizards and Jazz strike out.
- Story by
- Mavericks, Nico Harrison strike gold in NBA draft lottery. Wizards and Jazz strike out.
Cooper Flagg , welcome to the Dallas Mavericks .
Against the odds, the Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery Monday with just a 1.8% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Of course, Dallas could always trade the No. 1 pick but it's rare for a team to make that deal. Chances are, Flagg ends up with the Mavericks who had a tumultuous season with the controversial trade of Luka Doncic from Dallas to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in early February.
Advertisement
ANALYSIS: 2025 NBA mock draft: Which lottery team needs Cooper Flagg the most?
While Dallas clearly was a big winner, it's considered a deep draft class , and several teams will have a chance to improve their roster – not only in the lottery but later in the first round.
The NBA draft is June 25-26.
Here are the winners and losers of the 2025 NBA draft lottery:
2025 NBA draft lottery winners
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks have been under assault from fans and NBA media since they traded Doncic. They made the play-in game but failed to reach the playoffs, but in an unexpected turn, they won the No. 1 pick and the opportunity to select Flagg, the Duke star who was the national player of the year as a freshman in 2024-25. Dallas is just one season removed from reaching the NBA Finals, and when healthy, it has a strong roster with Davis, Kyrie Irving , Klay Thompson , P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively.
Advertisement
Now, the Mavericks can add Flagg, the player who is considered not only the top prospect but a talent who can help a team immediately.
Mavs president of basketball operations and general manager Nico Harrison, the guy who traded Doncic , can distance himself from the role of villain.
Cooper Flagg
If Flagg goes to Dallas, he goes to a team that is trying to win now instead of a team immersed in an extensive rebuild. There won't be immense pressure for him to pull a franchise out of a losing situation and he can grow on a team with championship aspirations.
Flagg is also set for a big payday. He already has partnerships with New Balance and Gatorade, and his NBA rookie scale contract will amount to a four-year, $62 million deal.
Cooper Flagg.
San Antonio Spurs
With Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle – the rookie of the year winners in 2023-24 and 2024-25 – the Spurs moved from the eighth slot to the No. 2 overall pick in the lottery. They had just a 12.3% chance of moving into the top-two – just 6.3% of getting the No. 2 pick – and their numbers came in. The Spurs acquired De'Aaron Fox at the trade deadline, just named Mitch Johnson as the head coach to replace Gregg Popovich and now they have options with the No. 2 pick – including trading it for a proven player who can help immediately. The Spurs also have the No. 14 pick in the first round.
Advertisement
Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers were projected to get the No. 5 pick but also faced the prospect of losing their lottery pick to Oklahoma City if the pick fell outside of the top six. Well, the Sixers moved to third, and they will also have options. With Joel Embiid , Tyrese Maxey , Paul George and 2024-25 rookie Jared McCain , the Sixers are still in win-now mode.
2025 NBA draft lottery losers
Washington Wizards
Sharing the best odds (14%) with Charlotte and Utah to get the No. 1 pick and a 52.1% chance to get a top-four pick, the Wizards slid to No. 6, which was the worst possible outcome they could get in the draft lottery. At No. 6, they still have a chance to draft a quality player and add to a young roster that features Alex Sarr , Bub Carrington , Bilal Coulibaly , AJ Johnson and Kyshawn George . But it's not the No. 1 pick.
Advertisement
Utah Jazz
The Jazz had the worst record (17-65) and like the Wizards and Charlotte, they had a 14% chance to get the No. 1 pick and a 52.1% chance to get a top-for pick, but also a 47.1% chance to get the No. 5 pick. The odds giveth and the odds taketh, and the Jazz slipped to the fifth pick.
Tanking
Starting with the 2020 draft, the NBA flattened its lottery odds so instead of the team with the worst record having a 25% chance of winning the lottery, the three teams with the worst record shared the same odds to get the No. 1 pick (14%), No. 2 pick (13.4%), No. 3 pick (12.7%) and No. 4 pick (12%). This was done to discourage tanking, which is the practice of trying to get the worst record in the league in order to get a high draft pick.
Advertisement
Now, a 14% chance to get the No. 1 pick is still better than a 1.8% chance, so there is still tanking. And bad teams improve through the draft – just look at what Detroit and Houston have done. But Utah, Washington and Charlotte won 17, 18 and 19 games, and they ended up with the fifth, sixth and fourth picks, respectively.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA draft lottery: Mavs, Cooper Flagg strike gold. Wizards strike out.
