The Dallas Mavericks won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, which caused some to suggest reform, pointing out that the lottery should be focusing on helping the worst teams in the league.
Adam Silver was on FS1’s “Breakfast Ball” on Wednesday and explained why the lottery didn’t need reform, saying it’s to discourage tanking.
“We call it a ‘Lottery,’ and I think some people think it was a one-in-a-million chance that Dallas was going to win. Remember, the worst-performing team had a 14% chance at winning, which means there was an 86% chance they wouldn’t get [the No. 1 pick]. Dallas had roughly a 2% chance, so the losingest team had a seven times better chance. Two percent is 2%; it’s going to happen,” said Silver.
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“When people say, ‘And therefore, the lottery is broken,’ I have a different viewpoint, which the purpose of the Lottery is to disincentivize teams from tanking. Here, you had a team that was clearly trying, whatever people think of that [Luka Doncic trade], they were trying to win, then Kyrie [Irving] got injured, then Anthony Davis got injured, and so then they found themselves in the Lottery.”
The Mavs will make only their second No. 1 overall selection in team history — the first was selecting Mark Aguirre in the 1981 draft — and are widely expected to pick Duke phenom Cooper Flagg.
The NBA Draft will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, at Barclays Center, and will air on ESPN.