NBA Lottery Teams That Can't Afford to Fumble Their Draft Picks
There may be no bigger indicator of an NBA team's success than how it performs in the draft.
The Dallas Mavericks have a no-brainer choice with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, which they landed despite entering the lottery with minuscule odds of winning it. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs were poised to be awesome for the next half-decade or more even before they ended up with the No. 2 pick.
However, the 2025 draft could swing the entire trajectory of a number of rebuilding teams. The following five lottery teams need to hit on their respective picks and come away with a future star.
Brooklyn Nets
1 of 5
Lottery Pick: No. 8 Overall
The Brooklyn Nets hold the keys to the offseason with an NBA-high $62 million in projected cap space. They also own four first-round picks, although only one of those is in the lottery.
Brooklyn's rebuild is still very much in its infancy, as it didn't have a single pick in the 2024 draft. This No. 8 overall selection may already be the most untouchable player on the roster even though they have yet to actually select someone with it.
This is very much a "best player available" situation for general manager Sean Marks. Cam Thomas, the Nets' best young player, is a restricted free agent, and it's fair to question how much of their cap space the Nets want to spend to retain him. Cam Johnson (29) and Nic Claxton (26) will almost certainly be on the trade block this summer.
This pick doesn't necessarily have to be a franchise player, as the Nets own their first-round pick in 2026 and have future first-rounders coming from the New York Knicks in 2027, 2029 and 2031 due to the Mikal Bridges trade. The Nets should be even worse in 2025-26 with five rookies on the roster and will have a real chance at the No. 1 overall pick a year from now.
However, the No. 8 selection may have to serve as the face of the franchise next season and look the part of a core piece moving forward. The Nets should be trying to move up in the draft, as they could offer a package involving some of the Nos. 8, 19, 26, 27 and 36 overall picks.
Regardless of where the Nets wind up picking, Marks needs to throw positional fit out the window and take the player with the highest upside.
Charlotte Hornets
2 of 5
Lottery Pick: No. 4 Overall
The Charlotte Hornets' never-ending rebuild has them selecting in the lottery for the ninth straight year.
While there have been some hits along the way (LaMelo Ball in 2020, Brandon Miller in 2023), Charlotte has whiffed just as often (James Bouknight in 2021, Tidjane Salaün in 2024), and it made one huge mistake by trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in 2018.
Even in a weak draft last year, Salaün looked like a major reach at No. 6 overall, especially since players like Jared McCain, Kel'el Ware, Matas Buzelis, Donovan Clingan and others were all still on the board. All hope isn't lost on Salaün yet given his age (19), although the rookie's 33.0 field-goal percentage ranked 411th out of the 415 total NBA players who attempted at least 100 shots or more last season.
Ball, Miller and Mark Williams comprise a promising young core, although this team needs another wing or power forward to build upon.
As much as the Hornets would have loved to have landed Cooper Flagg, sitting at No. 4 isn't a bad spot to be.
If Flagg goes No. 1 and the San Antonio Spurs select Dylan Harper at No. 2 as expected, the Hornets are guaranteed to get either Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe. Charlotte will undoubtedly do its due diligence on players like Khaman Maluach, Tre Johnson, Noa Essengue, Kon Knueppel and others in its projected area as well.
Between a nearly decade-long playoff drought and underwhelming early returns on Salaün, the Hornets need to find another star with this pick.
Philadelphia 76ers
3 of 5
Lottery Pick: No. 3 Overall
The Philadelphia 76ers began the 2024-25 season with hopes of winning a championship. Instead, they wound up landing the No. 3 overall pick, above teams like the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets who were actively trying to tank.
There's been some trade buzz involving this pick, especially since this is a vetera-laden team that should want to return to the playoffs immediately.
"Some teams expect the Sixers to be active in trade conversations, with names such as Kevin Durant (Phoenix) and Lauri Markkanen (Utah) as potential targets in packages that could include Paul George and the No. 3 pick," ESPN's Jonathan Givony wrote in mid-May.
It'd be understandable if the Sixers to want to get off the three years and $162.4 million remaining on George's contract, although giving up the No. 3 overall pick and only getting a player like Markkanen in return would be the textbook definition of fumbling the pick.
Getting Durant to pair up with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain would give this team an extremely high ceiling, although there would be a lot of age/injury concerns mixed in. Durant only has one guaranteed year left on his deal as well.
If Philly could move the No. 3 overall pick, McCain and other pieces (along with George's salary) to get a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo, that would be a different story.
In the end, we'll probably see the 76ers stay put and take who they feel is the best player available, likely Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe.
Utah Jazz
4 of 5
Lottery Pick: No. 5 Overall
The Utah Jazz have selected six players in the top 32 picks over the last two years, although none of them look like future stars to this point. Only two (Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams) were lottery picks, and this is the first time in three years that Utah will pick higher than No. 9 overall.
Even with all the other young players the Jazz have brought in and begun to develop, the No. 5 overall pick now is by far their most important.
Utah is still relying too heavily on a veteran core of Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins. Keyonte George briefly looked like the point guard of the future, yet he got benched for Isaiah Collier last season. Hendricks has played only 43 games in two years due to injuries, and Williams finished dead last in field goal percentage among all 415 NBA players who attempted 100 total shots or more last year.
The Jazz desperately need a young star. Luckily, there should be some strong options left on the board at No. 5, and no position in Utah should be considered safe from an upgrade at this point.
New president of basketball operations Austin Ainge claims that the Jazz won't tank next year even though they owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside of the top eight.
This may be Utah's last top-five pick for a while. Finding a star with it could shape the franchise's next 5-10 years.
Washington Wizards
5 of 5
Lottery Pick: No. 6 Overall
You could make the argument that no franchise needed the No. 1 overall pick more than the Washington Wizards. They don't have a single can't-miss prospect on their roster right now.
Veterans like Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart are years removed from their primes. Even Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft last year, was the only center in the NBA who failed to shoot above 40 percent from the field last season.
They're not guaranteed to find a star at No. 6 this year, either. Players like Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey figure to be gone by then. VJ Edgecombe may not make it past the Utah Jazz at No. 5, either.
The Wizards' scouting department will truly be tested. They may be tempted to draft for fit with former first-round picks like Sarr, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George already on the roster, although even the fifth-best player in this draft may still have gone first overall in 2024.
This Washington franchise needs a jolt of energy, a player whom the fanbase can truly get excited about and are willing to buy tickets to come see even if the team itself isn't great.
The Wizards still need to take the best player available with the highest upside here and figure out the rest of the roster later.
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