DALLAS, Texas — The basketball gods have been smiling on the city of Dallas lately.
Roughly one month after the WNBA’s Dallas Wings selected UConn star Paige Bueckers first overall, the Mavericks clinched the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, despite having only a 1.8% chance of doing so.
But was it fate — or is there a conspiracy behind Dallas’ remarkable luck? The lottery results have left some NBA fans putting on their detective hats.
The NBA Draft Lottery has a long history of raising eyebrows. Most famously, fans have speculated that then-commissioner David Stern rigged the 1985 lottery so the New York Knicks — who had only a 1.4% chance — could select franchise-changing center Patrick Ewing.
And in 1993, when the Orlando Magic claimed the top spot with a 1.5% chance, some believed the league was trying to fast-track the success of a young expansion franchise.
So why have fans alleged that the league pulled the strings to help Dallas pick No. 1?
All signs point to former Duke phenom Cooper Flagg being the consensus No. 1 pick — a potential franchise cornerstone who lands in the lap of a Mavericks team that controversially traded away superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers after a Finals run in 2024.
The shocking trade sparked a myriad of theories amongst fans, ranging from bad blood between Dončić and Mavs management to the notion that Dallas was penny-pinching.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver himself has said the league trusted Dallas was acting in its best interest, but even he acknowledged doubts from the public:
“...there were some suggestions early on that the trade wasn’t done for basketball reasons. That somehow, the new owner didn’t want to pay a maximum salary or was focused on building a real estate development or something else,” Silver said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
While Silver had no grounds to block the deal, some fans now believe the league’s way of keeping Dallas competitive came in the form of a little lottery magic.
In a viral video of the Mavericks’ front office reacting to the pick announcement, fans flooded the comments with skepticism.
“‘Alright guys, act surprised,’” one used wrote.
“They rehearsed this all week,” wrote another.
Whether a legitimate conspiracy or not, the Mavericks will have the honor of drafting Flagg when the NBA Draft kicks off on June 25 at the Barclays Center.