The Dallas Mavericks were lucky enough to secure the first pick in the upcoming draft. There’s no secert college star Cooper Flagg will be the first selection.
If you ask most fans, they’ll say luck had nothing to do with it. They believe the NBA Draft lottery was rigged—some sort of backdoor deal made with the league when the Mavericks shocked the world by trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
TOP NEWS
Related: Dallas Mavericks Land Top Pick In 2025 NBA Draft
Not everyone believes in this theory, however. According to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Manni, there’s no way the NBA could pull off such an action.
“It is impossible to rig the NBA Draft Lottery,” Mannix said. “The NBA goes to such great pains to ensure that there is no appearance of impropriety. The guy that is telling the ping pong ball selector when to draw from the bucket, he has his back turned to the whole proceeding.
“He is standing there, with his back to the drawing and has a stopwatch in his hand,” Mannix continued. “And every 10 seconds, he will raise his hand, and that’s when a ball is drawn. It would take a Houdini-esque act to be able to rig the NBA Draft Lottery. There’s nothing suspect about what the lottery is.”
"It is impossible to rig the NBA draft lottery."
After witnessing the drawing firsthand, @SIChrisMannix joined @ryenarussillo to debunk the "NBA draft lottery is rigged" allegations. pic.twitter.com/XCtc0FCVpC
— The Ringer (@ringer) May 13, 2025
Even if the chances of this being rigged by the NBA seem impossible, you can never say never. The league is a business, and if ratings are tanking, Commissioner Adam Silver and the rest of the NBA will do whatever it takes to bring excitement back.
