The Philadelphia 76ers didn’t win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, but they still won big by getting the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Doing so means the first-round pick the Sixers traded with Al Horford back in 2020 won’t convey to the Oklahoma City Thunder this year.
This wasn’t the best scenario, but it's far from the worst. The team should gladly take what was given to them from the lottery. With the No. 3 pick, Philadelphia will be compensated well for such an awful season. However, the Sixers are not out of the woods yet with that pick owed to Oklahoma City.
Now that it won’t convey in 2025, that pick now becomes a top-four protected pick, making it even less likely the Sixers will get it next season if history repeats itself in 2026. Even if the Sixers get some lottery luck next year, it will be the same case in 2027. If it’s not conveyed by then, Philadelphia will convey their 2027 second-round pick to the Thunder.
Next season, the Sixers should have Joel Embiid and Paul George returning healthy after their 2025 seasons ended prematurely. With a fully healthy season from them, along with whoever Philadelphia picks with the No. 3 pick (if the team keeps it), the Sixers have every hope of bouncing back next season.
If that happens, Philadelphia wouldn’t have to worry about giving a high lottery pick in 2026 like they did in 2025. However, good health will factor into that. No one had a problem with the Sixers giving the Thunder a pick, as it bailed them out of the Horford disaster. It’s just giving them a high lottery pick that was a problem.
Crisis averted for now.
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