There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Dallas Mavericks landing the first overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Many claimed it to be rigged and Shaquille O’Neal may have added fuel to the fire.
Related: Dallas Mavericks Land Top Pick In 2025 NBA Draft
The reason fans believe the Draft Lottery was rigged stemmed from the shocking trade of Luka Doncic from the Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. To this day, it still doesn’t make much sense why Dallas traded its franchise star.
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Of course, to fans on social media apps like X, the reason was because of a “secret deal.” It’s no mystery that the NBA was struggling with ratings throughout the season.
The idea was that by adding Luka Doncic to the Lakers, the biggest market in the league, fans would be drawn to watch the games. In return, the NBA would make sure that the Mavericks received the No. 1 pick, enabling Dallas to acquire college superstar, Cooper Flagg.
Most analysts and hardcore fans dismissed this notion, as the league wouldn’t stoop to this level. Right? Well, NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal, may have hinted at the NBA Draft being rigged.
Shaq’s words fuel “rigged” conspiracies
Shaq was highly publicized during college, which led to many teams wanting to select him in the 1992 NBA Draft. Before the Draft occurred, Shaq recently explained what then NBA Commissioner, David Stern, said to him.
“In 1992, the draft was in June or something,” O’Neal said. “I meet Mr. [David] Stern in March. He says to me, ‘Can’t wait for you to come to the NBA.’ Then he pulled me to the side, ‘You want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot?’ He asked me that.
“I was like, ‘Hot.’ And he smiled and I smiled and then a couple of days later they had the draft thing with the top three things and Minnesota was No. 3. And then Charlotte was No. 2 and Orlando, Florida, was No. 1.
“I didn’t think anything about it, but you hear a lot of these conspiracy theories and there’s a lot of situations that can make these things sound good and sound true. Like, ‘O.K., Dallas gets rid of one of the best players, but oh, we’re getting a new one. Ding, ding, ding.’”
Shaq on what David Stern told him before the 1992 NBA Draft:
“‘You want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot?’ I said hot… Orlando, Florida, number one [pick].”
(via @AshleyNevel, h/t @CourtsideBuzzX)pic.twitter.com/xKBuUxIS1z
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 19, 2025
If what Shaq is saying is true, it certainly will fuel the fire of Draft conspiracy theories. It also makes fans ponder this idea—if the NBA is rigging the Draft, what else are they controlling?
