Sometimes, losing can bring unexpected benefits in professional sports.

Teams with the worst regular-season records often gain the best chances for high draft picks in future selections.

Enter Cooper Flagg.

Teams that perform poorly from now until spring will boost their chances of selecting the Duke Blue Devils star among the top picks in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft.

Which Team Will Draft Cooper Flagg?

• Wizards: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
• Jazz: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
• Pelicans: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
• Hornets: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
• Raptors: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
• Blazers: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
• Nets: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)

Currently, the Wizards and Jazz hold the top spot in the odds as of January 13. Washington’s record stands at a dismal 6-31, allowing the most points in the league and suffering an average defeat of over 14 points per game.

Utah follows with a record of 10-28, just four wins above Washington.

Interestingly, Flagg has been projected as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Through 16 games at Duke, he is averaging 19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 47.9% from the field and 34.5% from three-point range.

In the draft lottery, the three worst teams each possess a 14% chance of acquiring the top selection. Meanwhile, the fourth and fifth worst teams have 12.5% and 10.5% chances, respectively.

Historically, the league’s worst teams have not been very fortunate in the lottery. Last year, Atlanta was able to pick first overall despite being a playoff team with only a 3% chance. The previous season, the worst team, the Pistons, ended up with the fifth pick.

To recap, the last occurrence where the team with the worst record successfully won the lottery was back in 2018, when the Phoenix Suns, with a record of 21-61, selected Deandre Ayton.

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