2025 NBA Mock Draft: Ace Bailey falls to Jazz at No. 5, Cooper Flagg is top pick after Mavericks win lottery
Nobody enjoys a good conspiracy theory these days more than Americans. Everything from Presidential elections to space trips are doubted and debated, so much so that it's become increasingly difficult to even agree on facts. Which is why I guess I shouldn't be surprised that, once again, lots of folks are questioning the legitimacy of the NBA Draft Lottery after the Mavericks won it Monday night. But, as I explained Tuesday morning on the Eye On College Basketball podcast, the idea that such a high-profile event would be, or even could be, rigged in the Year 2025 is so silly that it borders on delusional.
It's a conspiracy that makes no sense.
Whatever benefit you think might come from the NBA rigging the lottery to push Cooper Flagg to Dallas is completely overwhelmed by a million counterpoints — most notably that doing so would literally be a federal crime that could cost people jobs and freedom, not to mention undermine the credibility of a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. In the simplest terms, rigging the lottery would neither be worth it nor accomplishable given the way things are now done. So it would be cool if those who continue to push the narrative with literally no proof to support it would chill. But, obviously, I don't expect that to happen, and the 2025 lottery will likely be a storyline that's routinely revisited as Flagg embarks on a professional career in Dallas that should help the fans recover from the nonsensical trade of Luka Doncic midseason.
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