Brooklyn Nets Predicted to Win 2025 NBA Draft Lottery

Cooper Flagg might be the light at the end of the tunnel for this Nets season.

May 12, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; The NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place West. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images

Bleacher Report is projecting the Brooklyn Nets to win the 2025 NBA Draft lottery and, therefore, the sweepstakes to incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.

In a list predicting one hot take for every NBA team this season, B/R’s Eric Pincus writes that “while the Nets have some work to do (via trade) to get out of veterans like Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, look for Brooklyn to quickly drop to the bottom of the standings.” 

Brooklyn is widely projected to bottom out this season following the start of a full rebuild brought on by Mikal Bridges’ interborough trade to the New York Knicks. ESPN has the Nets tied for the worst odds to win a championship this upcoming season, while the team’s over/under for wins is set at 19.5.

The Nets finished 32-50 last season, their worst record since 2019-20 and their first non-playoff season in five. If Brooklyn won less than 20 games this upcoming season, that would be the team’s worst campaign since 2009-10 (12 wins).

As Bleacher Report notes, even having the worst record in the NBA would not just hand over the draft lottery to the Nets. The Nets would only have a 14 percent chance to come away with the number one pick in the 2025 Draft — a selection that would presumably be Cooper Flagg, an elite two-way prospect who would immediately become the face of the franchise.

Even if Brooklyn does not end up with the number one pick next summer, the team would still have a handful of highly-lauded prospects to pick from. In late June, ESPN mocked South Sudanese and Duke center Khaman Maluach to the Nets with the no. 6 pick. The Athletic's July mock, while not identifying destinations for players, has Rutgers freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, French point guard Nolan Traoré, Baylor combo VJ Edgecombe and Real Madrid swingman Hugo González available in that range.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Nets on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.