A coin flip decided the fate of the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks.
Two teams who backed into the NBA Draft Lottery with Play-In Tournament exits had very different experiences.
The Chicago Bulls landed the number 12 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, while the Dallas Mavericks soared all the way to number one.
Both teams had very little chance of landing the top pick heading into the draft. The Bulls’ chances were 1.5 percent and the Mavericks’ 1.8 percent.
And it was almost turned around entirely.
The Mavericks and Bulls both ended up with equal 39-43 records for the season. This meant a ‘coin-flip’ was held last month to determine draft order.
Dallas won the coin-flip, proving very consequential, as it secured their position to land the jackpot in the Lottery.
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty ImagesChicago Bulls fans in despair
The Chicago Bulls have not won the NBA Championship since the heady days of Michael Jordan in the 1990s.
And for years they have straddled the course of mediocrity. Too good to really have great draft lottery odds, and not good enough to challenge in the postseason.
This was ‘almost’ their year. This was the year the team with the paltry 1.8 percent odds trumped everybody, and there was almost no need for a coin flip.
If the Bulls had just lost one more game, they would have been in the Mavericks position.
There are 39 wins to look at, but for instance, if Josh Giddey’s half-court heave against the Lakers had not gone in, the Chicago Bulls would now have the number one pick, and be preparing for a bright future with Cooper Flagg.
It is too much for many Bulls fans to bear, unable to cope with their near-miss.
One fan posting on X, who was fed up with the team’s lack of commitment to a chosen path, demanded firings, “This should be it, time to fire the entire #Bulls front office. Nothing more to do, but make it happen.”
“Of course the #Bulls lose a coin toss tiebreaker to the team who jumps to number 1 overall. Being a Bulls fan born in 1998 is the cruelest fate a sports fan can have, and I feel like we’re due, but also, AK admittedly does not deserve an ounce of luck. He deserves this,” added another.
A third wrote: “Bulls ownership and AK deserved nothing tonight. They got what they deserved.”
And while fans have a point that the Bulls may not have deserved to luck into the top pick amid a lack of strategy, the Dallas Mavericks winning the Lottery was an even more controversial outcome. Bill Simmons had described the possibility in advance as a ‘moral outrage‘.
“There are so many what ifs about this Bulls season and these lottery results just put the final nail in the coffin,” a fourth fan wrote.
“The Bulls losing a coin flip to the Mavs makes me want to puke,” another fan added.
Chicago Bulls have coin flip history
The most famous coin flip in the NBA once impacted the Chicago Bulls back in 1979, when they lost out on the number one pick to the LA Lakers.
The Lakers ended up selecting Magic Johnson with the pick gained via the coin flip with the Bulls, changing the course of NBA history.
The Dallas Mavericks will hope Cooper Flagg is every bit as impactful during his career, while the Bulls reflect on another missed opportunity.