Sixers land No. 3 pick in 2025 NBA draft, keeping top-six protected selection away from Thunder

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on May 12, 2025

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Finally free of months of suspense, the 76ers can start to put things in motion.

They can also celebrate this thing over which they had no control, but that wound up meaning so much to them. They can grin and laugh and embrace now that the results of Monday’s NBA draft lottery are finalized.

The Sixers will select third in June‘s draft. They had the fifth-best odds of securing a pick in the top three — a 31.6% chance, and just a 10.5% chance of getting the second-overall pick. Had the Sixers’ pick fallen out of the six, they would have lost it to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Sixers will also have the 35th pick in this year’s draft. They traded Caleb Martin and a 2030 second-round pick to the Mavericks. In exchange, they re-acquired June‘s second-rounder and Quentin Grimes.

The Mavericks won the lottery while the San Antonio Spurs finished second. The Charlotte Hornets rounded out the top four.

When it became obvious in early March that this season indeed was a disaster, the Sixers began tanking with the hope of keeping their first-round pick. They would finish with the league‘s fifth-worst record of 24-58 while losing 31 of their final 36 games.

The lottery, with 14 reporters present, took take place around 6:15 p.m. CT in a sequestered room in Chicago’s McCormick Place West Convention Center. The results were revealed later during ESPN’s NBA draft lottery show.

Around 7:24 p.m., viewers learned the Sixers would keep their pick. The league announced the picks in reverse order. When the seventh pick was announced and they had not yet been named, Sixers fans could pump their fists and smile brightly. And the excitement grew once they were assured of a top-four pick.

Since they kept the pick, the Sixers will owe their 2026 first-rounder to OKC if it doesn’t fall in top four picks. If that doesn’t convey, the pick will be top four protected in 2027. Should the Sixers manage to retain it, the Thunder will get a 2027 second-rounder.

Duke forward Cooper Flagg is the presumptive No. 1 pick in June‘s draft. Meanwhile, Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper, who is regarded as the draft’s second-best player, could land with the Spurs.

Assuming they’re both off the board, the Sixers will still have plenty of solid options. If available, Rutgers forward Ace Bailey fulfills an immediate need. The 18-year-old, who stands at 6-10, is an elite scorer with huge upside.

However, the Sixers could also add quality players in Baylor‘s V.J. Edgecombe, Texas’ Tre Johnson, or Duke‘s Kon Knueppel.

This pick will enable the Sixers to add a young standout to play alongside Tyrese Maxey and take some of the load off of Joel Embiid and Paul George, who both had disappointing injury-plagued seasons.