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Chicago hosted NBA’s annual draft lottery on Monday night. Despite entering the lottery with only 1.8% odds, Dallas Mavericks landed the top election for this year’s upcoming draft.
But Mavericks was not the only franchise that experienced some unexpected luck in Chicago. San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers also landed the rights to the top three elections. Night’s surprising events got a strong reaction from Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant.
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Phoenix Suns Frem Kevin Durant is on the field during the playoffs against Clippers, April 22, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Durant suggested that the current NBA draft landscape enable a significant level of uncertainty.
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More specifically, Suns seemed to highlight the moral of organizations that fall shortly after using tank strategies with the hope of landing a top choice.
“Tanking must be really stressful in an organization,” NBA MVP 2014 wrote at X.
A man looks at NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place in Chicago, May 12, 2025. (David Banks-stated images)
Charlotte Hornets finished well under the .500 mark, ending the 2024-25 season with less than 20 wins. Washington Wizards, which held the second total committee in last year’s draft, could also not detect more than 20 wins this last season.
Despite the defective records and relatively strong odds of landing a top election, the hornets and wizards both ultimately earned elections outside the top three.
The NBA Lottery Odds has noticeably flattened over the last few years, making it more unlikely that teams that press the reset button will end up being rewarded with the rights to a top three choices.
A board shows the team’s odds under NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place in Chicago, May 12, 2025. (David Banks-stated images)
However, it was only a few years ago that Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets ended a season with some of the poorest win-loss records in the league. Thunder and Rockets entered this year’s NBA end game as Western Conference’s first and second seeds.
Meanwhile, Suns seems to be on a crossroads. This season, Suns Front Office will have to decide whether to press the reset button as Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal Trio turned out to be a largely unsuccessful venture.
Phoenix missed the post season after completing the 2024-25 season with a 36-46 record. Suns parted ways with coach Mike Budenholzer in April after just one season.
