NBA draft lottery: How it works, how to watch, team odds

NBA draft lottery: How it works, how to watch, team odds

Where willDuke freshman star Cooper Flaggbe playing next season? TheWashington Wizards, who last had the No. 1 pick in 2010, can picture Flagg in their lineup alongside Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington – and they envision becoming the nextHouston Rockets– a team built around quality young players and savvy veterans. TheUtah Jazzhave never had the No.1 overall pick, and Utah's front office led by Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik would love to win the draft lottery. They are sending co-owner Ashley Smith to Monday's NBA draft lottery for good luck. TheCharlotte Hornets, who haven't had the No. 1 overall pick since taking Larry Johnson first in 1991, will enter its second season with Charles Lee as coach and Jeff Peterson as executive vice president of basketball operations as they try to improve. Which teams needs Flagg the most? ANALYSIS:Boston claws back into series with New York after convincing win MORE:Timberwolves ejected fan, search for another who directed racial slur at Draymond Green Utah (17-65), Washington (18-64) and Charlotte (19-63) are going through major rebuilds, could use a player like Flagg to accelerate a turnaround and have the best odds to win the lottery. Brooklyn, Toronto, Philadelphia and New Orleans need help, too. Or will a longshot get lucky (say San Antonio which pictures Victor Wembanyama alongside Flagg) and win the NBA draft lottery? We will find out where each team picks in the draft on June 25-26 when the NBA conducts its annual draft lottery Monday. Here is what you need to know about the draft lottery: Monday, May 12, 7 p.m. ET TV:ESPN, various streaming services According to the NBA, "Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams. "All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks." The remaining lottery teams are slotted in order of their draft odds. Utah can't slide any lower than No. 5, Washington no lower than No. 6, Charlotte no lower than No. 7 and New Orleans no lower than No. 8. After that, if a team doesn't move into the top four via ping-pong ball selection, it can't move up any higher than its draft lottery odds position. For example, if Brooklyn, with the sixth-best odds to get a top-four pick doesn't move into the top four, it can't land a pick any better than No. 6. The lottery is conducted in a separate room just before ESPN's draft lottery show. Select media, NBA officials and representatives of the participating teams and the accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance in the room for the drawings. Percent chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft: Utah Jazz: 14% Washington Wizards: 14% Charlotte Hornets: 14% New Orleans Pelicans: 12.5% Philadelphia 76ers: 10.5% (pick may be conveyed to Oklahoma City if it falls outside of the top six) Brooklyn Nets: 9% Toronto Raptors: 7.5% San Antonio Spurs: 6% Phoenix Suns: 3.8% (Pick to Houston via Brooklyn) Portland Trail Blazers: 3.7% Dallas Mavericks: 1.8% Chicago Bulls: 1.7% Sacramento Kings: 0.8% (pick may be conveyed to Atlanta if it's not in the top 12) Atlanta Hawks: 0.7% (pick to San Antonio) The three teams with the best odds – the Jazz, Wizards and Hornets – all have a 52.1% chance of landing a top-four pick. Cooper Flagg, who played his freshman season atDukeand was the national player of the year, has been at the top of draft boards for a year. The do-it-all young star led the Blue Devils in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Flagg has outstanding footwork, especially in the low post. He can use either hand on shots in the paint, knows how to run plays, can hit catch-and-shoot 3s and is an active weakside defender. Flagg, who added more muscle since the start of the year, is a physical player who initiates contact, is confident and plays with force when necessary. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks and shot 48.1% from the field, 38.5% on 3-pointers and 84% on free throws. Rutger's Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, Baylor's V.J. Edgecombe, Texas' Tre Johnson, Duke's Kon Knueppel and Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears are expected to go in the top 10 inUSA TODAY's NBAmockdraft. Usingtankathon.com's draft lottery simulator, this is what the draft lottery results could look like: 1. Washington 2. Utah 3. New Orleans 4. Philadelphia 5. Charlotte 6. Brooklyn 7. Toronto 8. San Antonio 9. Phoenix 10. Portland 11. Dallas 12. Chicago 13. Sacramento (pick will go to Atlanta) 14. Atlanta (pick will go to San Antonio) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NBA draft lottery: Odds for who gets top pick, chance at Cooper Flagg

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NBA draft lottery: How it works, how to watch, team odds

NBA draft lottery: How it works, how to watch, team odds Where willDuke freshman star Cooper Flaggbe playing next season? TheWashington Wiza...

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Golden State Valkyries vs. Phoenix Mercury: TV channel, time, how to watch Sunday

Golden State Valkyries vs. Phoenix Mercury: TV channel, time, how to watch Sunday

The WNBA preseason continues for the league's new team, theGolden State Valkyries. They will travel for their first road game against thePhoenix Mercury. On Tuesday, the Valkyries are looking to bounce back from a one-point loss in their franchise debut at home against theLos Angeles Sparks. Golden State did show some promise, overcoming a 14-point deficit in the 83-82 loss. Laeticia Amihere scored 20 points and Monique Billings nearly produced a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds (seven defensive rebounds) for Golden State. The Mercury are also coming off a one-point loss to theLas Vegas Acesthis week. Satou Sabally and Kathryn Westbeld each scored 14 points for Phoenix in the loss. The Mercury shook up the roster this past offseason, following the departure of Brittney Griner and the retirement of Diana Taurasi. Here's how you can watch the game between the Valkyries and the Mercury: The WNBA preseason game between theGolden State Valkyriesand Phoenix Mercury is scheduled for Sunday, May 11 at 6 p.m. ET. Date: Sunday, May 11 Time:6 p.m. ET Location:PHX Arena (Phoenix, Arizona) TV:Arizona's Family 3TV (local), KMAX31 (local) Stream:WNBA League Pass This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Valkyries vs. Mercury: Channel, time, how to watch the preseason game

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Golden State Valkyries vs. Phoenix Mercury: TV channel, time, how to watch Sunday

Golden State Valkyries vs. Phoenix Mercury: TV channel, time, how to watch Sunday The WNBA preseason continues for the league's new team...

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Many Hamburger SV fans seriously injured in Bundesliga promotion celebrations

Many Hamburger SV fans seriously injured in Bundesliga promotion celebrations

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — One Hamburger SV fan suffered "life-threatening injuries" and 19 more were seriously injured in celebrations after theteam's return to the Bundesliga, local fire services said Sunday. The Hamburg Fire Department launched what it called a "major emergency response" to contend with Hamburg fans celebrating promotion on Saturday, when thousands of supporters stormed the field. Some 44 supporters needed medical treatment, including 25 who were taken to local hospitals, of whom five had just minor injuries. Hamburg clinched its long-awaited return to the top division with a 6-1 rout of Ulm, ensuring it will finish among the top two in Germany's second division and automatic promotion to the Bundesliga. Hamburg endured six seasons of just missing out on promotion since its demotion from the top division before success at the seventh attempt. The club was previously known as "der Dino" because it was the last surviving member of the Bundesliga to have played every season since its formation in 1963. But it was finallyrelegated in 2018after several close calls. ___ AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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Many Hamburger SV fans seriously injured in Bundesliga promotion celebrations

Many Hamburger SV fans seriously injured in Bundesliga promotion celebrations HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — One Hamburger SV fan suffered "li...

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How Pope Leo XIV may lead church and navigate an increasingly vocal Catholic right in US

How Pope Leo XIV may lead church and navigate an increasingly vocal Catholic right in US

The Catholic Church set sail on a redirected trajectory underPope Francis' command, a direction that angered conservatives as he challenged traditionalist gatekeeping by working to empower everyday Catholics. Now, the newly electedPope Leo XIVis at the helm and experts believe it's unlikely he will completely turn the ship around and point it in a direction that predates Francis. "The cardinals did not elect somebody who was going to reject the legacy of Pope Francis and take us back to the old church," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and columnist for Religion News Service. "That day is over." The 133-member conclave, an assembly of cardinals for whichFrancis appointed 80% of its members, concluded May 8 with theelection of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. The new pope's background and early remarks since his election, plus the significance as the first U.S.-born pope, is readjusting an earlier calculus for future change and any ensuing conflict. In some of Leo'searliest comments since his election on the idea of reform, the new pope said in a May 10 meeting with cardinals he hopes to further some of the changes that Francis championed. Specifically, the new pope cited his predecessor's work on synodality, referring to Francis' call for "decentralization" in policy decision-making, and "dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities." These same reforms were at the heart of an escalating conflict between the Vatican and an emergent Catholic right in the U.S.,a movement that seeks more independence for American Catholicism. But earlier expectations about that widening division is upended with Leo's election. "This is incredibly interesting because it changes the relationships between the Vatican and the West, and the Vatican and U.S. Catholicism," Massimo Faggioli, a leading Catholic theologian and professor at Villanova University, said about Prevost's election. "It's really a different set of cards that the conclave has given to the papacy." Prevost, who most recently served as a top Vatican administrator who managed bishop appointments for Francis, spent most of his 44-yearcareer in ministryin his hometown of Chicago and in Peru. He's a dual citizen in the U.S. and Peru, and is also a member of and leading figure within the Order of St. Augustine. Faggioli and Cathleen Kaveny, a professor of theology and law at Boston College, said Leo's American bona fides make it harder for U.S. critics to attack the new pope with some of the same claims they leveled against his predecessor. "You got someone who has a global outlook who's rooted in the American heartland," Kaveny said. "You've got a pope who understands America and who can't be dismissed as, 'You don't like Americans.'" More:Pope Leo XIV visits Francis' tomb, says he wants to uphold 'precious legacy' Conservatives over timerevolted against reforms that Francis championed to change how the church operateddue to fears they could alter Catholic doctrine. Examples of some of these key changes under Francis were revised procedures for an assembly of bishops known as a synod by allowing women and laity to participate, and his appointment of women to lead certain Vatican agencies. Backlash on the right, motivated by a combination of ideological and ecclesiological grievances, popularized attitudes that questioned the legitimacy of Francis' authority. Francis sought to quell some of that uprising, and Leo in his prior post even had a role it in along the way. In his role as a Vatican administrator over bishop appointments, Leo helped manage discipline for the incendiary Texas bishop Rev. Joseph Strickland,according to National Catholic Reporter.The Vatican removed Strickland from his post over the Diocese of Tyler in 2023, and for similar reasons pursued disciplinary action against two other high-ranking church leaders in the U.S. around the same time. Reese, author of the 1998 book "Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church," said Leo's background with bishop oversight signals "we are going to have a lot of new bishops in the United States who are more supportive of what Francis did and what Leo is going to be trying to do." This emergent Catholic right in the U.S. has deepened in its loyalty to President Donald Trump and Vice PresidentJD Vance, a Catholic convert. Vance is among several Catholics in Trump's cabinet, some of whom are allies of this emergent Catholic right and its belief in applying narrow religious criteria to government policy. These tensions contributed to clashes between Francis and the Trump administration, such as a February dispute between the late pope and Vance over immigration enforcement. Likewise, proponents of Francis within in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also expressed concern about Trump's immigration agenda. Amid that controversy, Prevost shared on social media articles that criticized Vance's stance on immigration and comments about Francis. "I do not expect him (Leo XIV) to move quickly, but he will bring a geopolitical awareness to deal with the Trump administration," said Mathew Schmalz, a professor of religious studies at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Leo has said little about other major social and cultural issues that have animated the emergent Catholic right, especially inclusion for LGBTQ+ Catholics and women's ordination as deacons. Plus, Kaveny and Faggioli said that even if Leo engages these future feuds that he will do so with a different flare. "This election is an election of continuity with Francis," Faggioli said. "It will not be a repetition of Francis." Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on social media @liamsadams. Contributing: Marc Ramirez in Texas, Deena Yellin in New Jersey and Peter Kramer in New York. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How Pope Leo XIV will navigate conservative divide in church, US

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How Pope Leo XIV may lead church and navigate an increasingly vocal Catholic right in US

How Pope Leo XIV may lead church and navigate an increasingly vocal Catholic right in US The Catholic Church set sail on a redirected trajec...

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Exclusive-FEMA cuts emergency training as hurricane season looms

Exclusive-FEMA cuts emergency training as hurricane season looms

By Leah Douglas, Tim Reid, Nichola Groom, Nathan Layne WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. federal disaster agency FEMA has sharply reduced training for state and local emergency managers ahead of the start of the hurricane season on June 1, according to current and former officials, memos seen by Reuters, and three sources familiar with the situation. The training cutbacks could leave storm-prone communities less prepared to handle the often devastating aftermath of hurricanes, the sources and some of the current and former officials warned. Leading forecasters predict a busier-than-average Atlantic hurricane season this year, with 17 named tropical storms, including nine hurricanes. If state directors and local emergency managers are not briefed on the federal government's latest tools and resources, it will impact their ability to prepare for and warn communities of impending storms, said Deanne Criswell, who headed FEMA during President Joe Biden's administration. Some 2,000 FEMA employees - or about a third of full-time staff - have been fired or accepted incentives to quit since President Donald Trump took office in January and declared that the agency should be abolished and its functions handed over to the states. Last week, Trump fired FEMA's acting chief, Cameron Hamilton, a day after Hamilton told lawmakers that the agency should be preserved. Hamilton's successor, David Richardson, told FEMA employees on Friday that he would "run right over" any staff opposed to his implementation of Trump's vision for a smaller agency. ONLINE TRAINING FEMA's National Hurricane Program and the National Hurricane Center typically conduct in-person workshops and presentations for state and local emergency officials each spring to help them prepare for hurricane season. These training sessions are used to share the latest data on hurricane modeling, build relationships between local, state and FEMA officials to improve coordination on disaster preparedness and relief, and review evacuation routes and other planning measures. Relationship building is critical for coordination in the event of a storm, according to three emergency managers and experts. Some planned hurricane training sessions and workshops have been moved online. FEMA, which is overseen by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, confirmed the training cutbacks in a statement to Reuters. "At the direction of President Trump and Secretary Noem, we're done offering duplicate trainings that promote waste, fraud and abuse and that are not a good use of American taxpayers," the statement said. "The National Hurricane Program continues to deliver readiness trainings ahead of the 2025 Hurricane Season to emergency managers nationwide with virtual trainings." Steve Still, the emergency manager for New Hanover County, a hurricane hotspot on North Carolina's Atlantic Coast, said online training, while useful, was less effective than in-person events. "If there's any practical applications or exercises, you need in-person training," Still said. Despite the reduced training, emergency management officials in North Carolina and Louisiana - states regularly battered by hurricanes - told Reuters they have FEMA-certified trainers on staff who can lead in-person disaster training. "FEMA courses have continued as planned in the state without issue," said Justin J. Graney, a spokesman for North Carolina Emergency Management. TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS Since February 5, FEMA staff have been barred from travel unrelated to disaster deployment and other limited purposes. Since early March, staff must have their speaking engagements and presentation materials approved by the Office of External Affairs and Office of Chief Counsel, according to two internal memos seen by Reuters. Few speaking requests have been approved, leading the National Hurricane Program to cancel some trainings for emergency managers in storm-prone areas or move them online, according to a source familiar with the situation. Organizers of April's National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans canceled several FEMA-led sessions - including one aimed at helping emergency managers make evacuation decisions during hurricanes - after FEMA staff dropped out due to the travel restrictions, said John Wilson, chairman of the conference. Wilson said the director of the National Hurricane Center usually speaks at the conference about lessons learned from past hurricane season and shares forecasting model updates, but did not this year. "It was kind of bizarre to have a National Hurricane Conference without the National Hurricane Center director opening it up," Wilson said. NHC Director Michael Brennan said in a statement that he did not attend the conference due to travel restrictions but noted that the center recently organized a virtual course with 500 participants. He said the NHC's "dialogue with partners continues and remains unchanged." CONCERNS Lynn Budd, president of the National Emergency Management Association, an organization of state emergency managers, and director of the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, said states need more time and resources if they are expected to make up for cuts to FEMA staff and activities. "There is room to reduce the footprint of FEMA in their regular deployment activities, but there is also expertise provided by FEMA for state and local jurisdictions that the states simply don't have at this time," Budd said. NEMA would not comment specifically on the reduced trainings. The lack of training sessions at disaster preparedness conferences leaves state and local emergency managers more vulnerable to inaccurate or inadequate advice ahead of the storm season, said Bryan Koon, the former head of Florida's Division of Emergency Management who now heads a disaster preparedness consultancy. "These conferences are really important, because lots of FEMA trainings are normally done at them," Koon said. "That's one of the critical things – new information is released to state and local emergency managers." If local emergency managers are not trained in new forecasting models, for example, then there might be critical information the public won't get ahead of a hurricane, Koon said. (Reporting by Leah Douglas, Nathan Layne, Nichola Groom and Tim Reid, editing by Ross Colvin and Suzanne Goldenberg)

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Exclusive-FEMA cuts emergency training as hurricane season looms

Exclusive-FEMA cuts emergency training as hurricane season looms By Leah Douglas, Tim Reid, Nichola Groom, Nathan Layne WASHINGTON (Reuters)...

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