All eyes will turn to Chicago on Monday night (May 12) as representatives from 14 NBA franchises gather in anticipation of the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, the night that could shape the future of a team for years to come.
At stake? The golden ticket to select Cooper Flagg, the consensus No.1 overall prospect and the most electrifying talent to hit the draft board since Victor Wembanyama.
Flagg's sky-high potential has him touted as a franchise-changer, the kind of player who can instantly alter the trajectory of any team lucky enough to win the top pick. No wonder this year’s lottery is drawing so much buzz.
Of course, not every team enters with equal hope, some have better odds than others when the ping pong balls start bouncing.
Here's a look at what makes this year’s lottery one of the most anticipated in recent memory, and everything you need to know before the drama unfolds.
How to watch NBA Draft Lottery: TV channel, live stream
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Livestream: Fubo (Try for free!)
Basketball fans in the U.S. can catch all the drama of the NBA Draft Lottery live on ESPN.
If you're looking to stream the event, it'll also be available on ESPN+ and through platforms that offer ESPN — like Fubo, which currently has a free 7-day trial for new users.
When and where is the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery?
- Date: Monday, May 12, 2025
- Time: 7:00 pm ET or 4:00 pm PT
- Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery tips off at 7 pm ET, live from Chicago, Illinois.
The fate of the league's non-playoff teams will unfold in real time as fans eagerly await to see who lands the top picks in this year's draft.
How the NBA Draft Lottery Works
At its core, the NBA Draft Lottery is all about determining the order in which teams will make their picks in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Every year, the 14 franchises that didn’t make the playoffs take part in this high-stakes draw, which sets the stage for the June 26 NBA Draft—a night where teams select eligible players hoping to land the next big star.
The lottery usually takes place about a month before draft night and operates behind the scenes with a bit of old-school flair: 14 ping pong balls numbered 1 through 14 are loaded into a lottery machine. From there, four balls are randomly drawn to form a unique combination—say, 5-9-10-13.
Altogether, there are 1,001 possible combinations, and 1,000 of them are distributed to the 14 lottery teams based on their odds. For instance, a team like the Utah Jazz—holding a 14% shot at the No.1 pick—gets 140 of those combinations.
Whoever hits the winning four-number combo scores the top overall pick in the draft. The same drawing process is then repeated to determine the second, third, and fourth picks. If the same team’s combo gets drawn more than once, that result is tossed, and another combo is selected.
Once the top four picks are locked in, the remaining order is set by regular-season records, working backward from the worst to best.
Once the results are finalized, they're sealed in envelopes and revealed one by one in a live televised show—a tradition that never fails to deliver a little suspense and a lot of hope.
What are other key dates for the 2025 Draft process?
- April 26: NBA Early Entry Deadline (11:59 p.m. ET)
- May 9-11: NBA G League Combine
- May 11-18: NBA Draft Combine
- May 12: NBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm
- June 15: NBA Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline (5 p.m. ET)
- June 25: 2025 NBA Draft First Round
- June 26: 2025 NBA Draft Second Round