Sixers fans put through mental agony to learn they kept their pick

He gets a pass for being a Temple Alum

Who amongst us hasn’t gotten confused by the lottery?

The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery was a success for the Sixers. Not only did they keep their top-6 protected first-round pick, but they jumped up a couple spots to snag the number three overall pick in the draft.

That still managed to come with a lot of stress for anyone watching the lottery live on ESPN. Anchor Kevin Negandhi got a bit confused when he saw the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets had been jumped and assumed that the Sixers pick had also fallen outside of the top-6.

While he was declaring that the pick would be sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the cards for the seventh and sixth pick were revealed to be two teams that were not the Thunder, meaning the Sixers had kept the pick after all.

This season was torturous for anyone who sat through a good chunk of it. The lottery was the last hope of the team coming away with anything to show for it. When the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs quickly jumped into the top-4, it rightfully caused a lot of concern for the Sixers as it meant they had to jump up as well to retain the pick.

Thankfully, Negandhi realized just in the knick of time that Philadelphia had leapt into the top-4 as well.

As a Temple grad and a noted Philly-sports fan, Negandhi must have been as nervous as every other Sixers fan waiting on the results. He made sure to apologize to the fanbase afterwards while encouraging them to celebrate a successful night.