Sixers President Planning To Keep No. 3 Pick In 2025 NBA Draft

The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2025 NBA draft lottery on Monday unsure whether they would walk out with a first-round pick at all. They had the fifth-best odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, but if they fell to the No. 7 spot or later, they would have to send the pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the Al Horford/Danny Green trade from 2020.

When the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs jumped up into the top four, it briefly looked bleak for the Sixers. According to John Hollinger of The Athletic, they had a roughly 88 percent chance of losing the pick at that point. Luckily, the lottery machine spit out their combination next, gifting them the No. 3 pick and ensuring they’d owe their top-four-protected 2026 first-rounder to OKC instead.

Sixers president Daryl Morey doesn’t sound eager to move on from that pick, either.

“That’s the plan,” Morey told John Kincade and Amy Fadool during an interview on 97.5 The Fanatic after the lottery. “To get a high-upside player that we also think can contribute right away is a big deal, and we feel like No. 3 is a great spot to be.”

In some respects, the 2025 NBA draft will effectively start with the Sixers. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the Mavericks “plan to select Duke forward Cooper Flagg and will not entertain the possibility of trading away the [No. 1]

pick for a proven superstar.” Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony said he’s “99.9% sure” that the Spurs will take Rutgers guard Dylan Harper at No. 2.

The Spurs are already coming up as a potential trade suitor for Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is reportedly open to reconsidering his long-term future in Milwaukee this offseason. However, Givony said the Spurs are “not pursuing trades, from what we’re hearing.” Regardless of whether they’re the ones making this pick or another team is, Harper figures to be the choice either way.

The No. 3 pick thus seems like the inflection point of this year’s draft. Whomever the Sixers decide to pick—assuming they’re the ones making that choice—will set off a cascading effect that impacts the rest of the draft order.

Sixers Dropping Early Hints

Coming out of the lottery, Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe and Rutgers forward Ace Bailey look like the early front-runners for the No. 3 pick. Morey made it clear during his end-of-season press conference that he would just the best player available, position be damned.

“Definitely best player available,” Morey said. “It has to be that in the draft, for sure. But we see the pick as sort of a tool to upgrade the team. … It’s just a tool to make the team better, but obviously, there’s a good chance we’ll take someone. In that case, it will just be the best player. I’ve never shied from that.”

The Sixers are already fairly loaded in the backcourt, particularly if they’re able to re-sign soon-to-be restricted free agent Quentin Grimes this offseason. Tyrese Maxey won the 2023-24 Most Improved Player award and earned his first All-Star nod that season, while Jared McCain was the early front-runner for this past season’s Rookie of the Year award before he suffered a meniscus tear in mid-December.

Kincaid specifically asked Morey whether “the abundance of guards that you already have” would factor into the Sixers’ decision-making at No. 3. Morey confirmed that the Sixers “won’t take that into account,” adding, “If the best player is a guard, we’ll take a guard there.”

Unsurprisingly, Morey didn’t reveal exactly who the Sixers might have in mind at No. 3. But in an interview with the team website, he said they “really think the top three of this draft is very strong.”

During an interview with Mike Gill of 97.3 ESPN, head coach Nick Nurse shed more light on what the Sixers would be looking for at No. 3.

“I think there’s a couple in my mind that are on there. Now that we’re at 3 is when you can really dial in. We all know who’s going No. 1, and we’ve only got one team that can pick one of the two other guys that we want. So if we have a couple, we’re in good shape, I think.

“That being said, I just want the most talent, want somebody that competes to win, mental toughness. Somebody who understands that this is a grind and a job, and you’ve got a lot of time to get better and a lot of time in the gym. And a good teammate, man. We want somebody that wants to compete to win and be a part of a great organization.”

Whether that’s Bailey, Edgecombe or someone else entirely is anyone’s guess at this juncture of the predraft process. The NBA draft combine and private team visits should help provide more clarity on that front, although the Sixers figure to keep their cards close to the vest until they’re on the clock on June 25. No one should rule out a trade as a possibility, either. Morey is the king of valuing optionality, so he figures to at least explore the costs of moving up, moving down and/or moving out of the draft entirely.

Teams with multiple established stars typically aren’t in position to add a top-three pick to their roster, though. Having a young, high-upside player like that on a cost-controlled rookie contract for the next four years could help the Sixers navigate the ever-present challenges of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement. And if the Sixers do decide to pivot away from Joel Embiid and/or Paul George in the not-too-distant future, they’d be able to retool around Maxey, McCain, Grimes (if they re-sign him) and whomever they select at No. 3.

Landing this pick was a much-needed lifeline for the Sixers after an otherwise lost season. With the Eastern Conference suddenly looking wide-open after Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon on Monday, they might find themselves right back in the championship mix as soon as next season.

Morey told Kincaid that while the Sixers are in a win-now window, they believe whomever they select at No. 3 can help both in the short and long term.

“We are in that window where we’re ready to win, but the nice thing about this draft being a very good draft overall, especially at the top end, is that we don’t feel like we’re gonna have to make a compromise there,” he said.

The Sixers now have roughly six weeks to explore all of their options with the No. 3 overall pick. But based on Morey and Nurse’s early comments after the lottery, they appear inclined to stand pat unless they get bowled over by a blockbuster offer.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

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