The Dallas Mavericks had a 1.8% chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery going into the ordeal on Monday; they defied the odds and ended the day with the No. 1 overall pick.
The prize for any team was going to be former Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg. He is considered one of the best young basketball players since before he even entered the collegiate ranks.
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For the Mavericks, luck was on their side. Dallas made the shocking move to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February for Anthony Davis. The team still made the play-in tournament and competed to be one of the eight teams to challenge for the NBA title.
The NBA world was left dumbfounded that the Mavericks were able to get the top pick. Basketball fans spoke of “conspiracy” while LeBron James and Kevin Love added their own reactions to the fray.
Mavericks CEO Rick Welts was in charge of the draft lottery when the New York Knicks received the No. 1 pick in 1985 – in what theories suggested was “rigged.” He said he spent four years debunking those theories and will likely need to debunk the 2025 lottery as well.
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“I’m the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago,” Welts said, via 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.”
However, Welts was excited about the opportunity to select Flagg.
The San Antonio Spurs received the No. 2 pick, the Philadelphia 76ers will pick third and the Charlotte Hornets will have the fourth pick.
After Flagg, the two top prospects were considered to be freshmen from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights – Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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