Fans aren’t the only ones that believe the 2025 NBA Draft lottery was rigged.
Some owners share that sentiment, too.
In an appearance on the “Chapo Trap House” podcast, investigative podcaster Pablo Torre said two owners told him at the event that they believe the lottery was fixed for the Mavericks to draft Duke standout Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick.
“I remember I was at an event, and I spoke to two NBA owners. This was the day after the NBA lottery. And those two owners were both like, ‘This was obviously fixed,’” Torre said.
“I’m saying literally two NBA owners did not trust the hand of Adam Silver to remain out of the proceedings, in terms of rigging the NBA draft lottery,” he added.
Dallas secured the No. 1 choice just a few months after a puzzling trade in which general manager Nico Harrison sent franchise icon Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
But with only a 1.8 percent chance of winning the lottery, the Mavericks earned the right to draft Flagg.
It could’ve simply been luck, but many fans thought it seemed too good to be true.
“Nico Harrison should not be allowed to make this pick,” Barstool Sports personality Dan “Big Cat” Katz wrote. “He needs to be fired before the draft. I’m happy for Mavs fans, they deserve this, Nico does not.”
Even LeBron James found it ridiculous, posting a few crying laughing emojis on X after the news broke.
Torre said the owners he talked to were merely speculating, but it shows that more than just fans were suspicious.
The NBA changed its lottery odds in recent years as well. The three worst teams have an equal 14% chance of picking No. 1, while every other non-playoff team has decreasing odds to discourage tanking.
Despite their poor odds, the Mavericks and Hawks snagged the top choice in 2025 and 2024, respectively. Atlanta’s chances sat at just three percent.
In his rookie season, Flagg has been unsurprisingly outstanding.
After winning National Player of the Year honors at Duke last year, he’s averaging 20.4 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 48.2 percent from the field in Dallas.
The Mavericks are still seven games out of playoff contention, but Flagg’s heroics provide a glimpse of hope for the future — all for a team that looked dead in the water last year after casting Doncic to the side of the road.
And nearly everyone is skeptical of how Flagg landed in Texas.