Grizzlies’ playoff fate impacts 2025 draft pick

Friday’s play-in game carries enormous draft consequences for the Memphis Grizzlies, due to a conditional first-round pick agreement with the Washington Wizards that was finalized back in February.

At the time, the Grizzlies agreed to send their 2025 first-round pick to Washington, but only if it falls outside of the lottery.

At that point in the season, the deal seemed like a safe bet for Washington, as Memphis was still sitting comfortably in the playoff mix.

But the team’s late-season slide has brought that assumption into serious doubt.

If the Grizzlies lose on Friday and fail to advance to the postseason, they would land in the lottery, keeping their No. 14 pick in the draft.

In that case, the Wizards would receive two second-round picks instead – the most favorable of the Celtics’, Pacers’, Clippers’, or Heat’s 2026 second-rounder, along with the Hawks’ 2027 second-round pick.

However, if the Grizzlies win, clinching the No. 8 seed, the Wizards would indeed receive that 2025 first-round pick.

Depending on the results of a tiebreaker scheduled for Monday, that pick would fall at No. 18, 19, or 20 in the draft order.

In other words, the stakes of Friday’s matchup go far beyond just a playoff berth – the outcome could dramatically shift the draft capital involved in the Memphis–Washington trade.

A loss preserves a lottery pick for the Grizzlies. A win gives it away.