Even after suffering a recent ankle injury, Duke's Cooper Flagg remains the crown jewel and long-projected No. 1 overall pick of this summer's 2025 NBA draft with the bottom-dwellers of the Association actively trying to lose games in order to secure more ping-pong balls in the lottery and ultimately select him.
Bettors can currently wager on which team they believe will be the one to ultimately select Flagg, with the Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, and Utah Jazz all tied atop the leaderboard with +500 odds apiece.
Here's a look at the updated odds for all franchises in the running to have the 18-year-old sensation fall in their lap.
Team To Draft Cooper Flagg Betting Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Washington Wizards | +500 |
| Charlotte Hornets | +500 |
| Utah Jazz | +500 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +600 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +700 |
| Brooklyn Nets | +850 |
| Toronto Raptors | +1000 |
| San Antonio Spurs | +1200 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | +1800 |
| Houston Rockets | +2500 |
| Chicago Bulls | +3700 |
| Miami Heat | +5500 |
| Sacramento Kings | +6000 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +7500 |
| Orlando Magic | +14000 |
Odds as of April 5, 2025 at Sportsbook
Cooper Flagg Betting Favorites: Washington Wizards, Charlotte hornets, Utah Jazz
As of April 5, 2025, it's the Jazz who hold a slim advantage over the Wizards with a .205 winning percentage to Washington's .221 winning percentage for the worst in the league. The Hornets are just a few games better at .247, but Utah will especially find it difficult to put wins on the board moving forward with the sixth-hardest remaining schedule of all 30 teams at 581.
With the way the odds work, though, regardless if they have differing win-loss records, if they're the three teams at the bottom of the standings, they'll each have an equal 14-percent change of securing the first pick. Tie-breaking scenarios are introduced if multiple teams finish with identical records.
What's working against all three of them, though, is that no team that's finished with the worst record has actually landed the No. 1 pick since 2018 when the 21-61 Phoenix Suns did so and acquired Deandre Ayton. The Atlanta Hawks just took Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher first overall in 2024 despite qualifying for the play-in tournament and only having a three percent chance of winning the lottery.
Washington hasn't picked first since 2010 when it took former franchise cornerstone John Wall, which was nine years after selecting notorious bust Kwame Brown straight out of high school. The Jazz have never had the No. 1 selection in a draft, and the Hornets have been waiting since 1991 when they picked Larry Johnson.
Why Will Cooper Flagg Be Drafted First Overall?
The degree of hype surrounding Flagg even before he stepped on the hardwood for Duke was immense, but despite the level of competition in the ACC failing to truly challenge him, the 6-foot-9 forward continuously demonstrated why he's viewed as a generational, once-in-a-lifetime talent who can be an instant game-changer for any organization he joins.
Flagg led all Duke players in all major statistical categories, averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 rejections per contest. His two-way intangibles place him on such a high pedestal, as his athleticism and defensive chops can impact games in which his still developing shot mechanics aren't cooperating.
He's closing in on a national championship with the Blue Devils ahead of a Final Four matchup with the Houston Cougars on Saturday after averaging 19.5 points throughout the March Madness bracket. Duke has been viewed as the best team in the country for a while, and his strong showing on the biggest stage he's competed on to date has solidified Flagg's status as the best of his class.
Flagg may not provide a team an instant turnaround quite like LeBron James did with the Cleveland Cavaliers, or a 7-foot-4 build with playmaking chops like Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio, but what he can offer out of the gate is hope for brighter days ahead with his superstar potential.
