Houston Rockets Have a Realistic Shot at the First Pick in the NBA Draft
The Houston Rockets will have a chance at the 1st pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Five ties among teams with identical regular season records were broken today through random drawings to determine the order of selection for the NBA Draft 2025 presented by State Farm. The Suns ( Rockets) won their tiebreaker with the Blazers to have the 9th best odds in the draft to land the first pick.
There is a 3.8% chance the Rockets land the first pick on lottery night ( May 12th). Houston acquired the Phoenix Suns 2025 and 2027 first round picks through the Brooklyn Nets as part of the Kevin Durant trade. The Rockets have a significant opportunity to get a valuable asset to one of the leagues deepest young rosters.
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The number one overall pick in the NBA draft is Cooper Flagg. Flagg had one of the better freshman season ever by a college basketball player. He won the Wooden Award which goes to the top college basketball player.
Flagg averaged 19.2 ppg in his only season with the Blue Devils. There are also rumors that the Rockets could look to trade the pick for a veteran such as Kevin Durant. The Rockets are very fortunate to be able to be in position to add such a dynamic player at the top of the draft after winning 52 games this season.
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Yahoo
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Draymond recalls hilarious KD-to-Warriors mix-up after Luka trade
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New York Times
an hour ago
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an hour ago
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He only made two of his nine Game 1 shots and was limited to 24 minutes. Daigneault opted to close without him on the floor, a possible mistake in retrospect, considering what happened. But Holmgren made Daigneault's decision to keep him on the floor more often in Game 2 by bringing a level of offensive assertiveness. Holmgren was upset with himself for his rushed, soft finishing on Thursday night and corrected that on Sunday. He had nine points in the first quarter and finished with 15 on 6-of-11 shooting. 'You have to have a level of care,' Holmgren said when asked if his frustration fueled his response. 'If you're just like, whatever, I don't think that's good. I'd say I have a good middle ground of not getting overly emotional but also caring enough to try and always be better next game.' As the series shifts to Indianapolis, the double-big lineup still appears to be only a minor part of Daigneault's plan. Hartenstein and Holmgren played five minutes together and were a plus-four. But both centers were impactful separately against a Pacers team that generates uncomfortable situations for bigs. 'They were both really good in both situations,' Daigneault said. 'One area where we improved tonight was our pick-and-roll coverage against their bigs. They're a different look because of the rolling, the popping, just the way they play. They both were great. I thought Chet, in particular, had a rough offensive night in Game 1. As always, he rose back up and was really, really good.' Advertisement Gilgeous-Alexander had a far more efficient night. After needing 30 shots for his 38 points in Game 1, he went for a smoother 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting and 11 of 12 from the line. He had eight assists and four steals, outplaying Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who left the arena limping. But the Thunder kept control of this game when Gilgeous-Alexander rested, showcasing that star-plus-depth combination that boosted them to 68 wins this season. They won the 36 Gilgeous-Alexander minutes by five points and the 12 minutes he rested by 11 points. The five-man unit of Alex Caruso (who had 20 points), Jalen Williams, Wiggins, Cason Wallace and Hartenstein was particularly effective. 'We've played that lineup a lot through the playoffs,' Caruso said. 'Mark went back to it because we've had a lot of success. Me and Cason do a good job of mixing it up with whoever is the lead guard. Dub has great hands. We have a versatility in the lineup. It lets Wigs get a little bit loose, too.' The Thunder will fly to Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, readying for Tuesday's practice and media circus before a Wednesday and Friday two-game crack at taking back control of a series they let slip in the opener. They are 4-3 on the road in these playoffs. They'll need their depth to show up again. 'No one-man show can win an NBA championship,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. (Photo of Aaron Wiggins: Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
