Raptors drop down to ninth after draft lottery

A frustrating play wherever Toronto Raptors fans were torn betwixt a win-now mentality and their hopes of a precocious draught prime has travel to a disappointing conclusion.

The Raptors volition draught ninth successful this summer’s NBA Draft aft moving down 2 spots successful Monday night’s lottery. Toronto (30-52) had the league’s seventh-worst regular-season grounds for a 31.9 per cent accidental astatine a top-four prime and a 7.5 per cent astatine the apical wide selection.

Instead, the Dallas Mavericks volition prime archetypal overall, moving 10 spots up the rankings, aft finishing with the 11th worst grounds successful the NBA. Dallas had lone a 1.8 per cent accidental of getting the apical pick.

“We tried to onslaught to the likelihood successful the lottery and spot what we tin do. It’s a bully draft,” said Raptors squad president Masai Ujiri astatine his end-of-season quality league connected April 16. “Honestly, wherever we fall, we consciousness precise confident.

“Our guys person done a batch of enactment each year. We’re highly excited. It’s a bully draft.”

Ujiri represented the Raptors astatine Monday’s lottery, held successful Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center.

Duke guardant Cooper Flagg is wide considered the No. 1 wide imaginable successful this year’s draught class. Duke centre Khaman Maluach is projected arsenic the ninth wide pick.

Toronto has had a large woody of occurrence selecting ninth.

Hall of Fame guardant Tracy McGrady (1997), six-time all-star DeMar DeRozan (2009) and existent starting centre Jakob Poeltl (2016) were each picked ninth by the Raptors.

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The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets each had a 52.1 per cent accidental astatine a top-four prime and a 14 per cent changeable of selecting archetypal overall.

Only Charlotte remained successful the apical four, however, with the San Antonio Spurs moving up to 2nd and Philadelphia 76ers going third.

Toronto volition besides draught 39th overall, utilizing a prime acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers.

The NBA Draft volition beryllium held June 25 and 26 astatine Barclays Center successful New York City.

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published May 12, 2025.