NBA
Dallas CEO pushes back narrative on NBA lottery being rigged: ‘This is very surreal’
Antonio is a life long sports enthusiast and professional journalist, who shares an obssesive urge to find and dig up the most interesting facts to guide gamblers towards more exciting, yet safe bets. In his own words, ''you can never really know enough about the things you love''.
All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated50 mins ago on May 13, 2025
In one of the biggest surprises in decades, the Mavericks have shockingly earned the NBA draft lottery this Monday night, winning the much-awaited No. 1 pick. However, lots of fans took social media to allege that the lottery had to be rigged, as Dallas only had a 1.8% chance of this happening.
What is most amazing, is the context in which this lottery happened. Not only are the Mavericks coming from making the biggest trade in recent NBA history, as they sent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles in February’s deadline, but also the fact that Cooper Flagg is set to be the first pick and dominate the league for years to come.
Social media is now flooded with jokes about general manager Nico Harrison, and CEO Rick Welts felt he had to address this narrative of a “rigged” lottery. “I’m the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago,” he said, as he worked for the league office in the first ever NBA lottery in 1985.
“I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Patrick Ewing won. I’ve been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since,” Welts told the Washington Post‘s Ben Golliver. “This is very surreal, personally. I am so happy for Mavericks fans.”
Welts then added: “I am just amazed at the depth of emotion and connection that the fan base has with this team. And what happened today, I can’t imagine a better day for Mavs fans. It’s going to really be something special. I can’t wait to get back to Dallas.”
Now the Texan organization can only hope that Flagg will end up as the top pick in the draft, as the 6-foot-9 forward has been considered the front-runner ever since he decided to graduate from high school a year early to enroll in college as a 17-year-old.
“I don’t know who we’re going to take, but should we take him, I think his résumé is pretty strong,” the CEO said, fingers crossed it will be the Duke freshman. “Every time he’s put in a situation that everyone wondered if he could succeed, he’s succeeded and then some.”
