There’s just under a year left until the 2025 NBA Draft, which already has a solid reputation thanks to its top talent, forward Cooper Flagg.
Standing around 6’1″, Flagg has long been considered a No. 1 overall pick, possessing a solid two-way game that would immediately help any NBA team.
Overall, the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons are the teams most likely to get the highest percentage chance at Flagg.
The Nets are the easiest candidate to retain at the moment. After trading away franchise star Mikal Bridges in exchange for a series of draft picks, the roster has remained one of the worst in the league, by choice. Sure, there are some solid contributors—Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson and others—but few are capable of leading teams to victory in a tough Eastern Conference.
The Wizards are in the same boat, with perhaps even less current talent stockpiled in players like Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and others. There’s no doubt Washington will be battling for top picks in the upcoming drafts, with Flagg likely their top priority, if they get the top pick.
In terms of roster, the Pistons are above the other two, but have failed to put together a sparkling resume in recent years that deserves the benefit of the doubt. They already had their young prospects, including star Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and newcomer Ron Holland. But the team has yet to make any headway in the win column.
Detroit has made efforts to sign veterans like Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. and should be able to catch up in the East. But that remains to be seen.
At best, teams will have a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 pick. And as the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery taught us, nothing is set in stone. Atlanta moved up nine spots overall to land the No. 1 pick and Zaccharie Risacher. And Houston moved up seven spots in the same draft to No. 3, displacing the league-worst Pistons all the way to No. 5.
Still, Flagg will be many teams’ best chance at a solid rebuild.
Would you like to participate in the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook And Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
