Draft Lottery 2025 Tonight @ 7pm TSN

[Raptors Realtor]

Well there are no guarantees but they still have a higher pick than us. I don’t think they’re losing much sleep over this.

They do have slightly higher picks, but they also have way worse teams that aren't sniffing the playoffs anytime soon, and the calibre of prospects they were hoping for at 1-2 has gotten a bit worse at 5-6, so I can't imagine the jazz and wizards are all that jazzed about the drop.

Detroit is living proof that no one can make definitive statements like this. Both the Jazz and the Wizards have young talent, cap flexibility, a top 6 pick in the draft plus a bunch of draft capital. Doesn’t mean they’ll do anything with it but their situation is not hopeless.

Who said anything about Detroit... We're talking Washington and Utah... My argument is the Raps have much more talent than either team... Are you betting money on both/either Utah or Wiz making the playoffs in the next 2 years?

[mdenny]

to get #5 you'd have to out-tank the Wizards or Jazz....you know that's not possible. And if Raptors did manage to out-tank the Wizards/Jazz and then dropped to 5th you would still be in here complaining

Here's the thing... we where in a great position pre allstar break, but we decided to chase fake wins.

All we did was climb up the standings while other teams dropped down. Get real, this ownership knows our fans will support whatever product we put out there. We're gonna be bad for a long, long, LONG time.

that's a lie. i get it, dropping in the draft is triggering but no need to lie. we sat half our team every game. we just faced trash teams.

These are just temper tantrums over spilled milk.

The lowest we possibly could've got was 5th last. And that is most likely to get the 6th pick.

Whatever difference people perceive between the 6th pick and the 9th pick....it's almost certainly overstated. Look at the past 20 years of 6th v 9th picks or 5th v 8th or 4th v 7th or 7th v 10th. There really isn't much difference historically. The draft is the real lottery.

The difference of 3 draft positions ISN'T ANYWHERE CLOSE TO adding Brandon Ingram to your lineup. Ingram will very likely have a better career than at least 7, probably 8 of the top 10 picks in this draft.


Ppl don't like to hear that because they are drunk on the hope springs eternal and shiny new toy fallacies. But it's true.

[DelAbbot]

That's the face of regret.

He realizes it was a complete waste of a season and he didn’t even tank properly.

At least his contract is running out.

Yes, let's celebrate the key person who lifted this organization out of poverty franchise status leaving.

His own fault for not doing his job from 2021-2024

[PushDaRock]

he is that's true. i was speaking more about this draft in particular and a guy like Ace. Good point about trading the pick.

Tricky spot really, I don't think Edgecombe or Bailey helps them much right away. 3rd pick is also making over 10m a year, that factors in quite a bit on a team with 3 max contracts.

they also have to pay quentin grimes.

Not something normally advocated but imo this draft is pretty flat after Flagg, so trading down to get a similarly talented player at a lower cap hit and some more assets might be a move they consider

[Brinbe]

imagine being jazz fans right now.

[littlerock2277]

Had a generational player but poor them can't have too many

This truly angers me, Why do these franchises keep getting rewarded with Top picks. They get a generational player 2 years ago, another top 4 pick last year and now a Top 2 pick.

I will never ask the raptors to tank again. We should just inform the league that we will trade Barnes to the lakers for trash that seems like the route to take.

Esp with this whole Canada vs US thing and if these conspiracy theories are true you can only imagine them saying *** outta here to the raptors for thinking they'd be in the top 4 lol I ain't even mad we won the ship and were one of the best modern day history champs ever.

I am a slight believer now in these conspiracy theories now. We have no chance at ever getting the top pick unless maybe the player being projected first is a Canadian. Other than that don’t see the nba ever favouring us.

[WuTang_CMB]

Lol

Read on Twitter

[Thaddy]

would that change anything....people could still say the balls are weighted, or come up with some other rigging method

Which is harder to rig?

We'll never know.

Yeah increasing the visibility will makes it much harder to rig.

[DutchCanuck]

Stop freaking out about dropping 2 spots mathematically this had a fairly high probability.

Let's get a piece at 9 and see how it works there will be early picks that bust and late picks that blossom.

[B-Ball Freak]

Man I'm the type of stay away from conspiracy theories but wow how convenient for the Mavs and the Spurs to certain extent too. Happy for their fans but damn this is why people think this is the most rigged sports league besides the corrupted ass soccer leagues.

[Ari_Emanuel]

Early Top 10 Mock:

DAL - Flagg
MIL- Harper (Spurs trade this pick & others to get Giannis)
PHI - Bailey
CHA - VJ
UT - Tre
WAS - Maluach (they fell in love with Bilal & Sarr's measurables etc, we've heard teams wanna trade up for KM, I think they take him)
NOP - Fears
BKN - Queen
TOR - Bryant * in Raptors' fashion, have to be bit of a "shock" in the draft
HOU - Kon

I'm good with us drafting a prototypical wing at 9th if Bryant is there. We have a pretty good track record with those types of players, and we've seen enough mod to late lottery wings end up being top 2 or three players of their draft to take that risk.

Kon has become the wild card. Will anyone take him before our pic? We need him or some other surprise pick to jump into the top 8. Who might that be?

[Duffman100]

Early Top 10 Mock:

DAL - Flagg
MIL- Harper (Spurs trade this pick & others to get Giannis)
PHI - Bailey
CHA - VJ
UT - Tre
WAS - Maluach (they fell in love with Bilal & Sarr's measurables etc, we've heard teams wanna trade up for KM, I think they take him)
NOP - Fears
BKN - Queen
TOR - Bryant * in Raptors' fashion, have to be bit of a "shock" in the draft
HOU - Kon

I'm good with us drafting a prototypical wing at 9th if Bryant is there. We have a pretty good track record with those types of players, and we've seen enough mod to late lottery wings end up being top 2 or three players of their draft to take that risk.

Kon has become the wild card. Will anyone take him before our pic? We need him or some other surprise pick to jump into the top 8. Who might that be?

If Kon is available at 9 I think you have to take him as a value pick and figure the roster out after.

[ontnut]

Lol I'm not saying the draft necessary wasn't rigged, but some of you really need to understand how statistics and probability work

If we're going to talk statistics and probabilities, the math says there's a 0.012% chance that the top 3 picks played out the way they did. That's a 1 in 8,319 chance. The NBA lottery has been around for 40 years, so you'd have to repeat the entire history of the NBA lottery 200 times for this to ever happen again.

You have a 2-3x higher chance of getting a perfect SAT score (1 in 3,400).
If you played high school sports, the odds of you going pro or to the Olympics is 1 in 1,400, so 6x more likely than this top 3 lotto.
You're about 10x more likely to have been born with an extra finger or toe (1 in 500-1000).
You're also about 10x more likely to catch a foul ball at a random baseball game you attend.
Getting a hole in one is about a 1 in 12,500 chance.

We're talking about some prettttty low probabilities here.

[SFour]

Which is harder to rig?

We'll never know.

Yeah increasing the visibility will makes it much harder to rig.

there's a whole room of people watching the process

The NBA Draft Lottery drawing takes place in a secure, closed room with limited attendance to ensure fairness and confidentiality. Based on available information, the number of people present in the lottery room during the ping-pong ball drawing includes:

Team representatives: One representative from each of the 14 lottery teams, typically a front-office executive or official, is allowed to attend. That’s 14 people.

Media members: According to posts from the NBA’s official PR account on X, 14 media members were permitted to observe the drawings in 2025, and 12 were allowed in 2024.

NBA officials and staff: A small number of league officials, including those overseeing the lottery process, are present. This typically includes a representative from the accounting firm Ernst & Young, which audits the process, and other NBA staff to operate the lottery machine and manage proceedings. Exact numbers for this group are not consistently specified, but it’s estimated to be around 5–10 individuals.

Other observers: Occasionally, a few additional stakeholders, such as security personnel or independent auditors, may be present to ensure transparency, though their numbers are minimal and not always detailed.

Adding these up, the total number of people in the room is approximately 30–40, with the core group consisting of the 14 team representatives, 12–14 media members, and a handful of NBA officials and staff. The exact number can vary slightly year to year based on media access and operational needs, but the NBA keeps the group small to maintain security and integrity.

The process is described as taking place in a “locked, secure room with no way of communicating with the outside world” to prevent leaks before the official televised announcement. The drawing itself is not broadcast live, and only a select few witness the actual ping-pong ball combinations that determine the draft order.

[B-Ball Freak]

I think this draft lottery goes against TWO, it wouldn't have mattered if the Raptors broke the record for most losses in a season...we weren't getting Flagg or Harper.

[twiggy2]

Stop freaking out about dropping 2 spots mathematically this had a fairly high probability.

Let's get a piece at 9 and see how it works there will be early picks that bust and late picks that blossom.

I wouldn't say 12 percent is a high probability

[ontnut]

Stop freaking out about dropping 2 spots mathematically this had a fairly high probability.

Let's get a piece at 9 and see how it works there will be early picks that bust and late picks that blossom.

Yeah there was a 13% chance, 1 in 6, it would happen. I think we were all somewhat mentally prepared for it.

I think most of the shock is from how the top 3 played out, an outcome which carried very low odds. 1 in 8400 or so.

[ash_k]

I hope Masai stays forever. But his Losing draft positions is well deserved after the disrespect towards real fans and players that started in Orlando. Should have used ~20 games to have an initial accessement of that new special Frontline and try to play-in

[bballsparkin]

How do we know its not rigged, who watched the draw?

a lawyer group - like Suits - oversees the draw.

Oh lawyers! Yeah they're all trust worthy and never been known to be unethical for big money. That settles it.

[ontnut]

We'll never know.

Yeah increasing the visibility will makes it much harder to rig.

there's a whole room of people watching the process

The NBA Draft Lottery drawing takes place in a secure, closed room with limited attendance to ensure fairness and confidentiality. Based on available information, the number of people present in the lottery room during the ping-pong ball drawing includes:

Team representatives: One representative from each of the 14 lottery teams, typically a front-office executive or official, is allowed to attend. That’s 14 people.

Media members: According to posts from the NBA’s official PR account on X, 14 media members were permitted to observe the drawings in 2025, and 12 were allowed in 2024.

NBA officials and staff: A small number of league officials, including those overseeing the lottery process, are present. This typically includes a representative from the accounting firm Ernst & Young, which audits the process, and other NBA staff to operate the lottery machine and manage proceedings. Exact numbers for this group are not consistently specified, but it’s estimated to be around 5–10 individuals.

Other observers: Occasionally, a few additional stakeholders, such as security personnel or independent auditors, may be present to ensure transparency, though their numbers are minimal and not always detailed.

Adding these up, the total number of people in the room is approximately 30–40, with the core group consisting of the 14 team representatives, 12–14 media members, and a handful of NBA officials and staff. The exact number can vary slightly year to year based on media access and operational needs, but the NBA keeps the group small to maintain security and integrity.

The process is described as taking place in a “locked, secure room with no way of communicating with the outside world” to prevent leaks before the official televised announcement. The drawing itself is not broadcast live, and only a select few witness the actual ping-pong ball combinations that determine the draft order.

I don't see why they couldn't just do it live then. Masai clearly knew the outcome based on the look on his face lol, I had a feeling when I saw him and his facial expression, that we weren't winning it. So what's the point of televising just the results?