Brooklyn Nets Nearing Postseason Elimination, High Lottery Odds

The Nets' loss versus the Bulls last night helped their lottery odds tremendously as the season winds down.

Mar 13, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) dunks the ball on Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets dropped their second-straight game last night on the road against the Chicago Bulls, losing 116-110. Cam Thomas' 24 points and 10 assists wasn't enough for the Nets, as Coby White's 31 points leads Chicago to the home victory.

The Bulls are now pulling away in the Play-In Tournament race at 28-38. Despite the losing record, they're five games ahead of the 11th-seeded Raptors, and are six games ahead of the Nets. Brooklyn is now finally starting to slip out of contention for the postseason at 22-44, as the team is six games back from Chicago. Missing the Play-In was the expectation many had from the start of the season, and now that is becoming a reality.

With the Nets nearing elimination from postseason contention, they are starting to rise in lottery odds. Once seventh in lottery odds just weeks ago, Brooklyn is now fifth in odds according to Tankathon, with a 10.5% chance at the No. 1 overall pick and a 42.1% chance at a top-four pick.

Brooklyn is unlikely to lose enough games to catch up to the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards, who hold the bottom-two records in the Eastern Conference, however, solidifying a top-five spot in odds would be huge for the future. Plenty of teams outside of the top three have been hit with lottery luck over the last few seasons, and Brooklyn could be that next team. The recent stretch of losing certainly helps.

At this point, the Nets are looking to finish the season showing promise regarding their young core, with Thomas and Noah Clowney back from injury. Veterans such as D'Angelo Russell and Cam Johnson have been impressive, but they're likely to be traded before next season, emphasizing the rebuild.

For now, the Nets' postseason ambitions are practically gone seeing as how they have 16 games left on their schedule. All they can do is finish the season and drop a few games in the process to guarantee high lottery odds. If Brooklyn finishes the season winning, it would do more harm than good for its long-term future.

Want to join the discussion? Like Nets on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.