Grading the Chaos: 2025 NBA Draft Lottery Recap and Analysis

Grading Every Lottery Pick from a Night Full of Twists and Bold Moves

The lottery for the 2025 NBA Draft is officially in the books—and, as expected, it delivered plenty of drama. From surprising picks to unexpected trades, the night was full of twists here at Barclays Center.

We knew Cooper Flagg was going No. 1 to Dallas. We knew Dylan Harper was locked in at No. 2 to San Antonio. It was widely speculated that the Sixers were targeting VJ Edgecombe at No. 3, and Kon Knueppel to Charlotte at No. 4 felt almost as inevitable as Flagg and Harper going one and two.

But the real turning point came at No. 5, when the Utah Jazz selected Ace Bailey. Bailey had been rumored to have interest in landing with Washington, New Orleans, or Brooklyn—yet Utah wasn’t among the teams mentioned as potential destinations. Meanwhile, Philadelphia and Charlotte appeared hesitant to take the swing on Bailey. The Jazz, however, ignored the outside noise and took the best player available while others seemed to shy away. That decision shifted the tone of the draft moving forward.

From there, the surprises kept coming. The biggest shocker to me was Egor Demin going No. 8 to Brooklyn, followed closely by Collin Murray-Boyles at No. 9 to Toronto. We saw trades. We saw players rise and fall. This lottery had it all.

Here are my grades for each of the lottery picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.