There were many conspiracy theories when the Dallas Mavericks landed the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft due to the lottery and were basically handed Duke superstar Cooper Flagg with the pick.
It’s not the first time the lottery system has been suspected of foul play, but this seemed particularly suspicious after the Mavericks’ mid-season trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the fact that Dallas had a 1.8 percent chance of landing the top pick.
Longtime NBA player Matt Barnes believes the system was rigged in favor of the Mavericks and that the team now has a responsbility to Flagg to make ensure they don’t screw it up.
“There are certain things that happen, like when LeBron goes to Cleveland and he’s from Cleveland and Derrick Rose goes to Chicago, with the first pick, he’s from Chicago, “Barnes said. “There are certain ways that the balls get played with to be favorable for teams.
“Somehow, someway, that was a favor because Dallas wasn’t a bad team; they shouldn’t have been the No. 1 team to get the pick,” Barnes said. “On the flip side, it’s so important as a young player to go to an organization that’s stable, has veterans, has great leadership. The ownership of the Dallas Mavericks has to show that now, their job is not to (expletive) it up because they’ve done some questionable things in their short time (after) taking over from Mark Cuban.”
No matter the feelings or theories, pressure will be on Flagg to prove he was worthy of the No. 1 pick and all the hype surrounding him heading into his rookie season.