The NBA community has crafted some of the deepest, most detailed conspiracy theories that the world has ever seen.
One of the more popular theories is about the league rigging the NBA Draft Lottery, and a point could certainly be made for it.
The most famous incident of this apparently happening is in 1985, when the lottery was first implemented.
All seven teams that had numbers drawn had the exact same chances of landing the No. 1 pick, but it was the New York Knicks who landed the pick and drafted Patrick Ewing.
Another glaringly obvious incident is the 2008 draft when the Chicago Bulls won the lottery and selected Derrick Rose with just a 1.7% chance of getting the first pick.
Fans thought it was evident that the NBA hand selected these teams to draw attention to struggling franchises who were once juggernauts.
This conspiracy is one that almost every NBA fan has engaged with at some point. But it was shocking when Wednesday afternoon, a player widely considered to be the Greatest of all Time chimed in on the debate.
Mar 24, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on against the Orlando Magic in the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
LeBron James joined the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and discussed a wide variety of topics, but perhaps the most interesting is his spiel on the NBA Draft Lottery.
When discussing the Cavs, his former team, James said he believes that the 2003 lottery where Cleveland selected him, may have been rigged.
People have discussed this possibility in the past, but you would never expect it to come from the man selected with the pick.
While the Cavs had the worst record and were tied for the best odds to land the pick, the Los Angeles Lakers forward thinks the NBA wanted him to land in his hometown, a destination that had been desolate for decades.
Whether this theory is true, we will likely never know, but it's always fun to kick around the idea that it happened.
The four-time MVP doesn't make media appearances often, so it's only fitting that he captivates the entire nation with his first one in years.
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This story was originally published March 28, 2025 at 3:56 PM.