NBA
Utah Jazz Are One Of Six Teams To Have Never Won NBA Draft Lottery
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Get to know Dan Girolamo betterPublished12 May 2025
14 teams will dream of winning the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery on May 12. The Utah Jazz are tied with two other teams for the best odds to win the lottery. Heading into tonight, the Jazz are one of six NBA teams to have never won the draft lottery.
Utah Jazz Have Never Won Draft Lottery
The Jazz have had their hits and their misses in the last 20 years, but they've NEVER had the #1 pick
Let's hope this changes tonight pic.twitter.com/If0DsU2rUX
— Jazz Lead (@JazzLead) May 12, 2025
The Jazz are hoping the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will be a historic night for the franchise.
The Jazz are in a rare club of teams to have never won the lottery and secured the No. 1 pick. The six teams include the Jazz, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Memphis Grizzlies.
Not only have the Jazz never won the No. 1 pick, but they’ve never improved their draft standing (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter).
The highest the Jazz ever picked was No. 2 in the 1980 Draft. Utah selected shooting Louisville shooting guard Darrell Griffith. The pick worked out, as Griffith played 10 years with the Jazz and had his No. 35 jersey retired by the organization.
The Nuggets are even more unlucky than the Jazz. The Nuggets have never selected first or second in the NBA Draft.
Denver has selected three players at No. 3: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Raef LaFrentz, and NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony.
2025 NBA Draft Lottery Storylines
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm will be held tonight in Chicago and air live at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN.
Below are the 2025 lottery probabilities for each of the teams ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/N6yidm0EO3
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 12, 2025
The Jazz, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets are tied with the best odds (14%) to win the No. 1 pick.
While Utah has never won the lottery, Charlotte won in 1991 (Larry Johnson), while Washington last secured it in 2010 (John Wall).
The New Orleans Pelicans (12.5%) and Philadelphia 76ers (10.5%) round out the top five.
The 76ers are a team of importance tonight. Philadelphia’s pick is top-six protected. If the pick falls within the top six slots, the 76ers can keep it. If it falls outside of the top six, then it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Duke freshman Cooper Flagg is expected to be the No. 1 pick regardless of the team that wins the lottery.
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery airs at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
