Raptors still paying karmic price for Kawhi shot as they fall in 2025 Draft

Lottery dreams crushed: Instead of moving into the top-four range, the NBA gods punished the Raptors by bumping them to the 9th pick.

The Toronto Raptors fanbase tuned in to the NBA lottery “show,” filled with hope, but the dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Raptors’ President Masai Ujiri was in attendance to represent the team for the festivities, hoping to bring some good luck charm and potentially bring home a top-four pick. The Raptors have a 31.9% chance of landing a coveted top-four pick. Instead, the NBA gods punished them by bumping them not one, but two spots back with the 9th pick overall.

The Raptors entered the draw with a modest 7.5% chance of landing Cooper Flagg and a 7.8% chance of getting Dylan Harper. These two prospects could significantly alter any team’s timeline, and in the Raptors’ case, allow Ujiri, who likes to play “the middle,” the opportunity to split the difference between “competing” and “roster building.” They also have an 8.1% and 8.5% of landing either the 3rd or the 4th overall pick, and Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, and VJ Edgecombe would be a significant bench upgrade.

It probably would have been fine had the Raptors stayed at 7th overall since they have the 7th-worst record—a 19.7% chance of happening. It’s already infuriating for the fanbase to move back one spot—a 34.1% chance of moving back to the 8th pick overall—but dropping two spots to 9th? But at least we’re not conveying the pick to the San Antonio Spurs.

I guess if there’s any consolation, the Raptors have had success picking 9th — Isaiah Thomas selected Tracy McGrady back in ‘97, Bryan Colangelo picked DeMar DeRozan in ‘09, and Ujiri tabbed Jakob Poeltl back in ‘16.

The biggest winner of the night was the Dallas Mavericks, who defied all odds by taking the #1 overall pick despite a meagre 1.8% chance of moving to the top. This fete also marks the first time Dallas has won the lottery in their franchise history. The rich got richer, too, with the Spurs moving up six spots to take the 2nd overall pick. San Antonio will likely be Dylan Harper’s potential new city.

While the Raptors’ night was disappointing, it wasn’t as bad as the Utah Jazz and the Washington Wizards’. Both teams fell outside the top four and ended up with the 5th and 6th overall picks, respectively.

Here’s how the “lottery” went down:

For the second straight season, the Raptors had a chance to commit fully to the tank but, confusingly, went against the grain just enough to be a treadmill mediocre team. The result? The Raptors were not being bad enough that they had to cough up their 2024 lottery pick to the Spurs, and this time, the Raptors failed to secure enough ping pong balls to get into the top-four range. Could the Raptors still be paying off their karmic debt in exchange for Kawhi’s magnetic four-bouncers six years ago?

Masai Ujiri, GM Bobby Webster, and the entire draft evaluation team will now focus on finding gems with the 9th and 39th picks in this coming draft.