Ever since Cooper Flagg reclassified into the high school Class of 2024 back in August 2023, the Maine native has been considered by many to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.Flagg, an 18-year-old from Newport, has since solidified that status by leading Duke to the Final Four as a freshman and winning five of the six National Player of the Year awards recognized by the NCAA. He declared for the draft last month.Although Flagg has long been projected to be the No. 1 pick, the NBA team that gets to hold that pick will not be known until Monday night’s draft lottery.Here is what you need to know about the NBA draft lottery, which starts at 7 p.m. in Chicago.What is a draft lottery?A draft lottery is a system used by the National Basketball Association and other sports leagues in which the holders of the top selections are determined by a drawing rather than solely by their record.The NBA became the first of the four major professional sports leagues in North America to adopt a draft lottery, using it to determine the order of first-round picks among non-playoff teams beginning in 1985.The National Hockey League adopted a draft lottery a decade after the NBA, and Major League Baseball has used a lottery since 2023 to determine the top six picks in its amateur draft.Currently, the NBA draft lottery system is only used to determine which teams have the first four selections and the rest of the first round is determined by record. But all 14 teams that missed the 2025 NBA playoffs have a shot at landing the No. 1 overall pick, albeit with varying odds based on their records.Which teams have the best odds to land No. 1 pick?Since the 2019 NBA draft, the three teams that had the worst regular-season record were each given 14% odds to land the No. 1 pick in the lottery.In the 2025 draft, those teams are the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets. The Jazz had the worst record in the league and under current NBA rules, they will pick no lower than fifth in the draft.Use the interactive tool below to see the odds of each team eligible for the 2025 NBA draft lottery. Two teams landed a spot in the lottery from a previous trade. The Houston Rockets, who finished second in the Western Conference, have the rights to the Phoenix Suns’ first-round draft pick. The San Antonio Spurs have two picks in the lottery, one of which they acquired from the Atlanta Hawks.PGlmcmFtZSBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vZS5pbmZvZ3JhbS5jb20vMWIxNzE0OWItMTNmYy00YTQ1LWIwMTEtZDk3M2FhOTY2NDk4P3NyYz1lbWJlZCIgdGl0bGU9Ik5CQSBkcmFmdCBsb3R0ZXJ5IG9kZHMiIHdpZHRoPSIxMDAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9Ijg3NSIgc2Nyb2xsaW5nPSJubyIgZnJhbWVib3JkZXI9IjAiIHN0eWxlPSJib3JkZXI6bm9uZTsiIGFsbG93ZnVsbHNjcmVlbj0iYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuIj48L2lmcmFtZT4=How exactly does the lottery process work?The 40th annual NBA draft lottery will be used to determine the first four picks of next month’s draft.ESPN is carrying a national broadcast for the announcement of the lottery results, but the actual drawing will take place in a separate room shortly before the broadcast starts. NBA officials, members of the teams in the lottery, representatives of the accounting firm Ernst & Young and select media members will be in attendance for the drawing.Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine manufactured by the Smart Play Company, which makes state lottery machines throughout the country. Smart Play also weighs, measures and certifies the ping-pong balls before the drawing.According to the NBA, there are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, regardless of their order of selection. Before the lottery begins, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating teams in the lottery. The teams that finished in the bottom three of the NBA — the Jazz, Wizards and Hornets — will each be assigned 140 combinations, thus each giving them a 14% chance to win the No. 1 overall pick.All 14 ping-pong balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds before the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed for another 10 seconds before the second ball is drawn. There is another 10-second mix before the drawing of the third ball, followed by a final 10-second mix before the fourth ball is picked. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 overall pick, and the same process is repeated with the same balls and lottery machine for picks 2-4.If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is drawn. The result is also discarded if the one unassigned four-ball combination happens to be drawn.The NBA said the length of time the ping-pong balls are mixed is monitored by a timekeeper who faces away from the lottery machine and signals the machine operator after the appropriate amount of time has elapsed.The remaining teams in the lottery who did not have one of their combinations drawn for the first four picks will draft in positions 5-14 using the inverse order of their regular-season records.An Ernst & Young representative oversees the entire lottery process and stuffs and seals the envelopes before bringing them to the studio for the broadcast.How does the draft lottery announcement work?NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will reveal the lottery results on the ESPN broadcast.A second representative from each team participating in the lottery will be seated on a stage. Neither those team representatives nor Tatum will be informed of the lottery results before the envelopes are opened, according to the league.The team whose logo is in the last envelope opened will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.How is the rest of the NBA draft determined?The NBA draft consists of two rounds with 30 picks in each round. There is an exception for this year’s draft because the New York Knicks forfeited their second-round pick due to a tampering violation, so there will only be 59 total picks.The draft order for the remainder of the first round, picks 15-30, is determined by reverse order of regular-season record, no matter how they finish in the playoffs.For example, the Boston Celtics finished with the third-best record in the NBA and thus will hold the 28th overall pick.The entire second round draft order, picks 31-59, will also be determined by reverse order of regular-season record.

PORTLAND, Maine —

Ever since Cooper Flagg reclassified into the high school Class of 2024 back in August 2023, the Maine native has been considered by many to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Flagg, an 18-year-old from Newport, has since solidified that status by leading Duke to the Final Four as a freshman and winning five of the six National Player of the Year awards recognized by the NCAA. He declared for the draft last month.

Although Flagg has long been projected to be the No. 1 pick, the NBA team that gets to hold that pick will not be known until Monday night’s draft lottery.

Here is what you need to know about the NBA draft lottery, which starts at 7 p.m. in Chicago.

What is a draft lottery?

A draft lottery is a system used by the National Basketball Association and other sports leagues in which the holders of the top selections are determined by a drawing rather than solely by their record.

The NBA became the first of the four major professional sports leagues in North America to adopt a draft lottery, using it to determine the order of first-round picks among non-playoff teams beginning in 1985.

The National Hockey League adopted a draft lottery a decade after the NBA, and Major League Baseball has used a lottery since 2023 to determine the top six picks in its amateur draft.

Currently, the NBA draft lottery system is only used to determine which teams have the first four selections and the rest of the first round is determined by record. But all 14 teams that missed the 2025 NBA playoffs have a shot at landing the No. 1 overall pick, albeit with varying odds based on their records.

Which teams have the best odds to land No. 1 pick?

Since the 2019 NBA draft, the three teams that had the worst regular-season record were each given 14% odds to land the No. 1 pick in the lottery.

In the 2025 draft, those teams are the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets. The Jazz had the worst record in the league and under current NBA rules, they will pick no lower than fifth in the draft.

Use the interactive tool below to see the odds of each team eligible for the 2025 NBA draft lottery. Two teams landed a spot in the lottery from a previous trade. The Houston Rockets, who finished second in the Western Conference, have the rights to the Phoenix Suns’ first-round draft pick. The San Antonio Spurs have two picks in the lottery, one of which they acquired from the Atlanta Hawks.

How exactly does the lottery process work?

The 40th annual NBA draft lottery will be used to determine the first four picks of next month’s draft.

ESPN is carrying a national broadcast for the announcement of the lottery results, but the actual drawing will take place in a separate room shortly before the broadcast starts. NBA officials, members of the teams in the lottery, representatives of the accounting firm Ernst & Young and select media members will be in attendance for the drawing.

Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine manufactured by the Smart Play Company, which makes state lottery machines throughout the country. Smart Play also weighs, measures and certifies the ping-pong balls before the drawing.

According to the NBA, there are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, regardless of their order of selection. Before the lottery begins, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating teams in the lottery. The teams that finished in the bottom three of the NBA — the Jazz, Wizards and Hornets — will each be assigned 140 combinations, thus each giving them a 14% chance to win the No. 1 overall pick.

All 14 ping-pong balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds before the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed for another 10 seconds before the second ball is drawn. There is another 10-second mix before the drawing of the third ball, followed by a final 10-second mix before the fourth ball is picked. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 overall pick, and the same process is repeated with the same balls and lottery machine for picks 2-4.

If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is drawn. The result is also discarded if the one unassigned four-ball combination happens to be drawn.

The NBA said the length of time the ping-pong balls are mixed is monitored by a timekeeper who faces away from the lottery machine and signals the machine operator after the appropriate amount of time has elapsed.

The remaining teams in the lottery who did not have one of their combinations drawn for the first four picks will draft in positions 5-14 using the inverse order of their regular-season records.

An Ernst & Young representative oversees the entire lottery process and stuffs and seals the envelopes before bringing them to the studio for the broadcast.

How does the draft lottery announcement work?

NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will reveal the lottery results on the ESPN broadcast.

A second representative from each team participating in the lottery will be seated on a stage. Neither those team representatives nor Tatum will be informed of the lottery results before the envelopes are opened, according to the league.

The team whose logo is in the last envelope opened will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

How is the rest of the NBA draft determined?

The NBA draft consists of two rounds with 30 picks in each round. There is an exception for this year’s draft because the New York Knicks forfeited their second-round pick due to a tampering violation, so there will only be 59 total picks.

The draft order for the remainder of the first round, picks 15-30, is determined by reverse order of regular-season record, no matter how they finish in the playoffs.

For example, the Boston Celtics finished with the third-best record in the NBA and thus will hold the 28th overall pick.

The entire second round draft order, picks 31-59, will also be determined by reverse order of regular-season record.