The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery is scheduled for Monday, May 12, 2025, at 7 p.m. ET.

Quick Scoop: When is the NBA lottery draft?

For the current cycle, the key date people are watching is May 12, 2025 , which is when the NBA Draft Lottery will be held, setting the order for the 2025 NBA Draft. The actual 2025 NBA Draft then takes place later in June, with the first round on June 25 and the second round on June 26 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

In recent seasons, the lottery has consistently fallen in mid‑May, right around the NBA conference semifinals, so fans can expect a similar mid‑May window going forward unless the league announces a format or calendar change. The lottery show is typically a one‑hour TV event in prime time on ESPN, featuring the reveal of the top 14 picks and interviews with team reps on stage.

If you’re searching or posting on forums with the phrase “when is the nba lottery draft” , most up‑to‑date answers will point you to May 12, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET for the lottery event, and late June for the full NBA Draft itself.

TL;DR: The NBA Draft Lottery (what most people mean by “lottery draft”) is on May 12, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET; the draft itself is June 25–26, 2025.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.