This past Monday, the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery went down. The results were shocking, led by the Dallas Mavericks landing the number one pick in the draft. But, there was more than just that. All three teams with fewer than 20 wins fell outside the top three picks. The Spurs and the 76ers both jumped into the top three. The Pelicans and the Nets both dropped a few crucial picks. We cannot judge anything too quickly because we don’t know how the draft is going to go. But, there are a few things that we need to mention as it pertains to fantasy basketball.
2 Takeaways From the NBA Draft Lottery for Fantasy Basketball
Flagg and Harper Don’t Get Their Team
With the Mavericks, Spurs, and 76ers getting the first three picks, it’s a tough pill to swallow for fantasy basketball purposes. Both the Mavs and Spurs have said that they will be selecting Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper. This could be a smoke screen, but if it’s not, it is disappointing for fantasy basketball.
In fantasy, opportunity is the main path to success for rookies. With Flagg, I am not as worried because of the Kyrie Irving injury, and Flagg can be the number two option for the Mavs right away. Harper is the one who worries me. He is a special prospect, and his game is so polished, but there is a tough path to opportunity for the kid. The Spurs’ depth chart, just at guard, consists of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and potentially Chris Paul. Harper has all the talent in the world, but this rotation is still going to be a tough one to crack. This lottery was tough for the top picks when you think about fantasy basketball.
Rough Draw for the Tanking Teams
This year’s lottery raised questions about the lottery odds. Teams like the Jazz, Wizards, and Nets got the worst of it this year. These are the teams that have extremely high fantasy upside for rookies because their rosters are fairly open. Whoever gets drafted to these teams has a bright future for fantasy. I’m specifically looking for offensive-minded guards to make a scoring impact. Guys like Tre Johnson, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Jeremiah Fears have the tools to be high-upside fantasy players. It would be unlikely, but Ace Bailey falling to any of these teams would be the best-case scenario for fantasy basketball. Although there are positives, it’s really unfortunate that we don’t get to see Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper get the keys to either of these franchises.
The Last Word
As mentioned earlier, we cannot judge too harshly on just the draft lottery. There is still a good chance at some trades happening before and during the draft, and even after, free agency can have a big effect on certain teams as well. But, we can still view the lottery as a bit of a disappointment for fantasy purposes. The Spurs and 76ers are going to have two great prospects as third options or worse without injuries. And the Jazz and Nets will not get one of the top prospects for their future.
Overall, we are going to have to wait until later this summer for a true analysis, but this draft lottery was not a good sign for the rookie class in fantasy basketball.
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