2025 NBA draft lottery simulation: Will the Sixers keep their first-round pick?
The Philadelphia 76ers will learn their fate tonight in the 2025 NBA draft lottery.
The only way the Sixers will keep their first-round pick is if it falls in the top six selections. If it falls outside the top six, it would convey to the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a trade the teams made in 2020 that sent Al Horford out of Philadelphia as the Sixers landed Danny Green.
The odds are in the Sixers' favor to keep their pick. They have a 63.9% chance of keeping their first-round pick and a 36.1% chance of losing it.
Below, CBS News Philadelphia simulated the 2025 NBA draft lottery via Tankathon.com.
2025 NBA draft lottery simulation
Here's how the lottery simulation on Tankathon.com played out:
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Charlotte Hornets
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Nets
- Toronto Raptors
- San Antonio Spurs
- Houston Rockets (via Phoenix Suns)
- Dallas Mavericks
- Chicago Bulls
- Atlanta Hawks (via Sacramento Kings)
- Spurs (via Hawks)
In this lottery simulation, the Sixers are able to keep their pick by landing the No. 6 overall selection. The Sixers dropped a spot in the lottery after entering with the fifth-best odds of winning it all, but keeping their pick would be considered a win after a disappointing season.
The real winners of the lottery in this simulation are the Trail Blazers, who jumped six spots to No. 4 overall.
How does the NBA draft lottery work?
Before the NBA draft lottery is televised, the actual lottery will happen in a separate room.
Fourteen ping pong balls numbered one through 14 will be placed in the lottery machine, and there are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14. However, 1,000 of the 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 teams in the lottery.
After the 14 balls are placed inside the lottery machine, they will be mixed for 20 seconds, and the first ball will be removed. Then, the remaining balls will be mixed for an additional 10 seconds, and the second ball will be drawn. There will then be a 10-second mix, followed by the drawing of the third ball. The same process will happen for the fourth ball.
The team that has been assigned that combination of numbers will get the No. 1 overall pick. The same process will be repeated with the ping-pong balls for the second, third and fourth overall picks.
If a team comes up more than once, the result will be discarded, and another four-ball combination will be selected. If an unassigned combination is drawn, the result will also be discarded, and the balls will be drawn again.
After the first four picks are determined, picks five through 14 will be decided in the inverse order of their 2024-25 regular season records.
What are the Sixers' 2025 NBA draft lottery odds?
Here are the chances the Sixers have at landing each pick, per Tankathon.com.
- No. 1 overall: 10.5% (Sixers keep pick)
- No. 2 overall: 10.5% (Sixers keep pick)
- No. 3 overall: 10.6% (Sixers keep pick)
- No. 4 overall: 10.5% (Sixers keep pick)
- No. 5 overall: 2.2% (Sixers keep pick)
- No. 6 overall: 19.6% (Sixers keep pick)
- No. 7 overall: 26.7% (would convey to OKC's pick)
- No. 8 overall: 8.7% (would convey to OKC's pick)
- No. 9 overall: 0.6% (would convey to OKC's pick)
When is the 2025 NBA draft?
The 2025 NBA draft is a two-day event that begins on Wednesday, June 25, and ends on Thursday, June 26. It will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The first round will take place Wednesday, and the second round will take place Thursday. The first round of the NBA draft will air on ABC and ESPN, while the second round will be televised on ESPN.
