NBA Lottery: The chance the Rockets could land the No. 1 pick
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HOUSTON - The NBA Lottery is Monday night and the Houston Rockets have a (small) chance of landing the top overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
How did the Houston Rockets get a lottery pick?
The Rockets had a great season, finishing second in the Western Conference.
They still have a shot at a lottery pick because of a complex deal with the Brooklyn Nets in 2024 that centered around picks.
As a part of the deal, the Rockets received the right to swap draft positions with the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns finished with the league's ninth-worst record.
Houston Rockets odds of each pick
By the numbers:
Houston will receive one of eight selections, with the 9th pick being the most likely.
Here are the odds:
- No. 1 pick: 3.8%
- No. 2 pick: 4.1%
- No. 3 pick: 4.5%
- No. 4 pick: 4.9%
- No. 9 pick: 50.7%
- No. 10 pick: 28.3%
- No. 11 pick: 3.5%
- No. 12 pick: 0.1%
When is the NBA Draft Lottery?
CHICAGO, UNITED STATES - MAY 12: Atlanta Hawks wins the NBA draft lottery in Chicago, United States on May 12, 2024. The Atlanta Hawks won the NBA draft lottery on Sunday, landing the No. 1 pick and a potential cornerstone player in a year where ther
What's next:
The lottery will be held in Chicago on Monday, May 12th at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
The 2025 NBA Draft will be held in Brooklyn on Wednesday, June 25.
How does the NBA Draft Lottery work?
Dig deeper:
Random drawings will select the first four picks of the NBA Draft. The rest will be determined by the reverse standings of whoever is left.
Media members, NBA officials, team representatives and the accounting firm Ernst & Young will oversee the process in a separate room ahead of the ESPN broadcast.
Each lottery team is assigned a certain number of ping-pongs balls, which is set by regular season record.
Four ping-pong balls will be randomly selected and that combination will determine the first four picks.
What are each team's odds of winning the 2025 Draft Lottery?
- Utah Jazz - 14%
- Washington Wizards - 14%
- Charlotte Hornets - 14%
- New Orleans Pelicans - 12.5%
- Philadelphia 76ers - 10.5%
- Brooklyn Nets - 9.0%
- Toronto Raptors - 7.5%
- San Antonio Spurs - 6.0%
- Houston Rockets (from Phoenix, via Brooklyn) - 3.8%
- Portland Trail Blazers - 3.7%
- Dallas Mavericks - 1.8%
- Chicago Bulls - 1.7%
- Sacramento Kings - 0.8%
- San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta) - 0.7%
Who will be the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft?
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - APRIL 5: Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils dunks the ball against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the Final Four round of the men's NCAA basketball tournament at Alamodome on April 5, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas
All signs point to Duke's Cooper Flagg being the top overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Flagg is a 6-foot-9-inch forward who grew up in Maine.
In his freshman season at Duke, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the NBA and the Houston Rockets.