The Dallas Mavericks winning the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery remains controversial, with most saying there was more to it than the lucky bounce of the balls. But according to Gary Payton, the same thing happened to the Seattle SuperSonics the year they drafted him No.2 overall.
The legendary guard shared his story on the “Club 520 Podcast,” fueling the ongoing “the NBA Draft is rigged” narrative.
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“They didn’t have a chance to get me at all. Then all of a sudden, they fool around and didn’t make the playoffs and then got in the lottery. And their balls was the chance of what Dallas was this year to get Cooper Flagg,” said Payton.
The Sonics moved up eight spots in 1990
The Sonics began scouting Payton in 1989 and felt that he was the perfect point guard for then-rising star Shawn Kemp. Their head coach, Bernie Bickerstaff, told Kemp about him and the latter started following him, too. Once the high-flying forward gave the green light, Seattle started tanking.
Coming off three straight playoff appearances, the Sonics finished the 1989-90 season with a 41-41 record — 6-8 in their last 14 games. They entered the 1990 NBA Draft Lottery with only 3.0 percent odds to win the No.1 pick.
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However, when the ping-pong balls were drawn, Seattle moved up eight spots to earn the second overall pick. The New Jersey Nets picked Derrick Coleman at No.1, while Payton went to the Sonics.
Winning Cooper Flagg sweepstakes
Meanwhile, the Mavericks finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 39-43 record, thanks mostly to injuries to Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford.
Dallas had a smaller 1.8 percent chance of winning the lottery. However, they moved 10 spots to land the No.1 overall pick and earned the right to draft Duke forward Cooper Flagg months after trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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The NBA world is still baffled by this development. Not GP, though.
“Hey, it happens, man,” he continued. “They crucified my boy Nico because he traded Luka. But all of a sudden, the bad luck went even worse when they laid all them injuries and then all of a sudden, big bang bang, didn’t go long, I went to one of them old crazy liquor stores, paid $10, and got a lottery ticket. And what I do? I hit for that billion, you feel me? And got the boy. And got the boy boy.”
Many have suggested that Dallas could trade the No.1 pick for an established star who would fit better with AD and Irving’s timelines. However, it’s hard to imagine Nico Harrison doing something like that after he was rewarded with the opportunity to regain some of the Mavericks fans’ trust.
Flagg will most likely become a Maverick. Harrison will most likely keep his job. And the Draft Lottery will most likely surprise us again in the future.
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Does that mean that the process is rigged? Those who aren’t convinced by now will likely never be.