The NBA Draft lottery is the NBA championship for the league's worst teams. After suffering through a grueling season of losses, luck can finally change with a couple good bounces from the ping pong balls.

The lottery system is how the NBA determines the draft order for the teams that don’t make the playoffs. It only determines the first 14 picks of the draft and has no impact on the second round. The first four picks are determined by the lottery, and picks 5-14 are determined by the reverse standings of whoever is left.

The 2025 NBA draft lottery brings its annual wave of intrigue Monday ( 7 p.m. ET, ESPN ), with the entire league descending on Chicago and offseason proceedings fully underway for most every franchise.