The Most Obviously Rigged Thing I've Ever Seen... And I Love It

Many times throughout NBA history, the draft lottery and the behind-the-scenes process of the balls being drawn have been the subject of many questions or conspiracy theories. Some of these include the NBA's first-ever draft lottery in 1985, where Patrick Ewing, one of the top prospects in the history of college basketball, "somehow" ended up landing in the biggest market in the league with the New York Knicks. Or how about in 2003, when the most hyped-up basketball prospect ever, LeBron James, ended up landing in his home state of Ohio with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Or in 2019, when, on the heels of an Anthony Davis trade request that would have set basketball in New Orleans back years, the Pelicans won the lottery and secured the human highlight reel, Zion Williamson, out of Duke—perhaps the biggest star in college basketball over the last decade.

Those are just a few of the more "coincidental" moments in draft lottery history... but to me, none of those compare to what we just saw. Tonight, a franchise may have been saved, jobs were preserved, a city and fan base were given hope, and the NBA's rigging of the draft lottery has never been more obvious.

But for some reason, I love that Cooper Flagg, one of the more hyped-up prospects in college basketball in some time, will in all likelihood begin his NBA journey in Dallas, Texas, playing for the Mavericks and perhaps being seen as the savior of this franchise.

Let's be honest: a year after making the NBA Finals, and months after making one of the dumber trades in NBA history by dealing Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavericks were one of the more hopeless franchises not just in the NBA, but in all of sports.

The trade of Dončić was a gut punch to the city that, for good, left the fan base calling for general manager Nico Harrison's job at almost every home game. And even with the arrival of Flagg, it may be something they never get over—but at least it gives them hope.

Why did they need this hope so badly? Well, soon after the Dončić trade, they were only three-quarters of their new duo featuring Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. Davis, who was the centerpiece of the return for the Mavericks in the Dončić trade, re-aggravated an abdominal injury in his Mavericks debut—where he was dominating—and while Davis was sidelined, Kyrie Irving tore his ACL and is scheduled to be out until at least January of next year at the earliest.

Heading into tonight, there was not much to look forward to over the next few seasons for Mavericks fans, but somehow, some way, with just a 1.8% chance of landing the first overall pick, the Mavericks got a gift from the basketball gods (and probably Adam Silver) and secured the best U.S.-born prospect since Zion Williamson in 2019. And all of a sudden, in the span of just a few minutes, the Mavericks went from one of the teams we did not need to pay much attention to for the foreseeable future to one of the NBA teams that all of a sudden become must-see TV next year—especially if Irving can come back to form a big three alongside Davis and Flagg.

What is most funny to me is how consensus NBA fans were on this—that it had to be rigged; the result was just too obvious. The conspiracy? With the NBA's ratings being such a topic of conversation this season, the league needed a new star in Los Angeles (Dončić), and in exchange for the Mavericks' "sacrifice," they would be awarded the best domestic-born prospect over the last half-decade.

This past season, Flagg led Duke to the Final Four, won the college basketball player of the year, and has drawn comparisons to Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

Assuming the Mavericks take him and he gets the chance to play with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, they'll form one of the more interesting trios in recent NBA history.

So was it rigged? I 100% believe—hell yes, it was—but I am happy he is not going to a bottom-feeder like the Hornets or Wizards.

I cannot wait to watch Flagg in Dallas, as he will be seen and looked to as the one who could possibly save Mavericks basketball.