There has been plenty of talk recently about the NBA Draft lottery potentially being rigged after the Dallas Mavericks landed the No. 1 overall pick for 2025, despite having a 1.8% chance of doing so. Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal added to that speculation over the past few days when sharing a story about the year he was drafted.
Shaq was taken with the top pick in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.
Ahead of the lottery, the Magic had the second-best odds to land the No. 1 pick as they had a 15.15% chance of doing so. O’Neal believes it’s possible former NBA Commissioner David Stern made sure that there was no doubt who got the top pick.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard this story but in 1992, I believe the draft was in June or something. I meet Mr. Stern in March,” Shaquille O’Neal recalled. “And he says to me, ‘Hey, I know who you are. I can’t wait for you to come to the NBA.
“Then he pulls me to the side. ‘Do you want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot?’ He asked me that.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic had the best odds of landing the top pick and Orlando is obviously much warmer than Minnesota. O’Neal had a preference between the two.
"I was like, ‘Hot.’ And he smiled and I smiled,“ Shaq said. ”And then a couple of days later they had the draft thing… Minnesota was No. 3, Charlotte was No. 2 and Orlando, Florida was No. 1."
At the time, it didn’t occur to O’Neal that there was anything potentially fishy about the Magic getting the top pick. However, as more draft lotteries have taken place over the years and there has been more controversy, he admits that he has questioned if Stern had something to do with his draft and others.
Even with Adam Silver now the commissioner, there continue to be those who question if the lottery is rigged.
“I didn’t think anything about it, but you know, you hear a lot of these conspiracy theories. And there’s a lot of things that could make these situations sound good and sound true,” Shaq said. “Like, ‘OK, Dallas gets ride of one of the best players and oh, we’re getting a new one. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.’
“So I don’t want to use the word conspiracy theory, but it’s very interesting how it all played out.”