NBA: Draft Lottery
Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts lamented that he would likely spend years debunking conspiracy theories after his team won the NBA Draft lottery despite having just a 1.8% chance of doing so.
Welts was in charge of the draft lottery in 1985 when the New York Knicks received the No. 1 pick — perhaps the most famous NBA Draft due to fan theories that it was rigged because of the “frozen envelope” theory.
The Mavericks shocked the basketball world by securing the number one pick, which will almost certainly be Duke superstar Cooper Flagg.
Flagg, a standout freshman, led the Blue Devils in points (19.2 PPG), rebounds (7.5 RPG), assists (4.2 APG), steals (1.4 SPG), and blocks (1.4 BPG), earning consensus first-team All-American honors and the national player of the year award.
Sportsnaut’s Andrew Buller-Russ writes Flagg is “a true scorer who can do everything on the basketball court” and “has no true weaknesses in his game.”
Skeptics Question Timing of Lottery Win
Flagg is a sorely needed piece for a Mavericks club that traded away Luka Doncic and finished the season under .500, losing in their second play-in game.
Conspiracy theorists immediately noted the timing: Doncic was sent packing and the team was promptly rescued in the draft lottery by overcoming steep odds to secure the number one pick.
“NBA 100% rigged this draft lottery to reward Dallas for agreeing to the league-administered Luka trade,” one suspicious fan wrote on X. “You can’t make this up.”
NBA 100% rigged this draft lottery to reward Dallas for agreeing to the league-administered Luka trade. You cant make this up
— Mikey (@MMcC_86) May 12, 2025
Others invoked famous fictional characters to suggest the Mavericks’ lottery victory was equally implausible.
“I believe in the legitimacy of the NBA draft lottery like I believe in Sasquatch, the tooth fairy, and Santa,” another skeptical fan added.
I believe in the legitimacy of the NBA draft lottery like I believe in Sasquatch, the tooth fairy, and Santa
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) May 12, 2025
Wait … Santa isn’t real?!
RELATED: Dallas Mavericks win 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, set to pick potential superstar Cooper Flagg
Welts Confronts Lottery’s Controversial Past
Welts acknowledged he would once again face conspiracy theorists who have long believed the NBA to be as rigged as the WWE.
He spent years arguing that the 1985 lottery was legitimate. That year, fans alleged the NBA rigged the lottery to ensure the Knicks won the first pick, securing Patrick Ewing and allowing a major market team to boost sagging ratings.
The theory suggests that David Stern, NBA commissioner at the time, used a bent envelope or other manipulation — the “frozen envelope” — to ensure the Knicks won.
Welts played a key role in the process, working in the league offices and overseeing that draft.
“You’re talking to the only person, I’m sure, who was in this room and was in the room 40 years ago,” he said, according to The Washington Post. “I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Patrick Ewing won. I’ve been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since. This is very surreal, personally.”
Welts said he was happy about the results and excited to return to Dallas.
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