NBA · 8 months ago

Top 10 NBA Draft Lottery Conspiracies: Flagg-to-Mavs Theory Joins

John Canady

Host · Writer

10) Spurs Land No. 2 Pick
In 2023, the San Antonio Spurs were granted the No. 1 overall pick and the right to draft a once-in-a-lifetime talent in Victor Wembanyama. Many believe his landing in San Antonio was rigged on its own, but considering the Spurs were tied for the highest odds to earn the pick, that can be overlooked. However, on Monday night, the league may as well have gift-wrapped an enormous offseason for the Spurs once again by allowing them to earn the No. 2 overall pick despite having a 6.3% chance to land there, as they were initially projected to pick at No. 8. At the same time, rumors about the potential trade request looming about Giannis Antetokounmpo asking out of Milwaukee and eyeing the Spurs continue to raise eyebrows. Either way, San Antonio is in a great spot, whether they decide to stand pat and pick a top prospect or use the No. 2 overall pick as trade bait to land another premier talent alongside Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox.

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1) Knicks Ewing - Frozen Envelope
Arguably, the most well-known conspiracy theory regarding the NBA Draft Lottery is the "Frozen Envelope" story, dating back 40 years to when the Draft Lottery began. Many believe that the envelope to indicate the Knicks' pick was tampered with to give commissioner David Stern the notion on which card the Knicks were to award them the No. 1 overall pick, and Patrick Ewing intentionally. No substantial evidence supports this claim, but it will forever be considered the most significant theory this time of year.

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2) Shaq/Penny Team Up in Orlando Despite Odds, Webber Traded
In 1992, the Orlando Magic landed Shaquille O'Neal with the No. 1 overall pick. One year later, in 1993, Orlando's luck continued, turning their 1.52% chance to earn the No. 1 overall pick again, giving them the draft rights to Michigan star Chris Webber. However, the story doesn't end there, because the Magic drafted Webber, to immediately trade him to the Golden State Warriors, for the draft rights to Penny Hardaway and three future first-round picks nicely setting up Orlando for the future.
3) Cavaliers Get Hometown Hero in LeBron James
LeBron James, a kid from Akron, Ohio, getting an opportunity to stay in his home state and play for the team he grew up watching seemed too good to be true. However, the Cavaliers' horrid record in 2002-03 put them in a position to be tied at first for the highest odds (22.5%) to earn the No. 1 overall pick. What seemed too good to be true was set up perfectly with James being selected with the top pick, leaving many to believe the NBA interfered in some way to set the generational prospect up to land with his preferred team.
4) LeBron James Joins Miami, Sparks Big Three
In 2011, LeBron James made headlines after departing from his hometown team in free agency to join the Miami Heat. It wasn't the fact that James left that raised eyebrows; it was that James helped form a Big 3 in South Beach, with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. To make things more suspicious, the Cavaliers, from whom James departed, earned the No. 1 overall pick despite having a 2.8% chance to do so, which led them to select Kyrie Irving at No. 1 overall. Many believe that the league orchestrated the move to Miami and rewarded the Cavaliers with Irving to make up for the loss, which, interestingly enough, leads us to conspiracy theory No. 5.
5) LeBron Returns to Cleveland
In 2014, LeBron James sent waves through the NBA again, leaving the Heat to rejoin the Cavaliers. James formed a big three of his own in Cleveland with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, whom the Cavs landed in a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the No. 1 overall pick, which turned into Andrew Wiggins. Many felt that James returning to Cleveland was an effort by the league to replenish his image after his reputation took a hit for his original departure in free agency in 2011.
6) Bulls Land Hometown Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose was one of the most electric prospects in college basketball during his time at Memphis. The athletic guard from Chicago dreamed of playing for his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls. Since losing Michael Jordan, the Bulls' historic franchise had gone through a spell without a face. However, that changed in 2008, when Chicago landed the top pick to select Rose despite having a 1.7% chance.
7) Pels trade CP3, Earn Top Pick
In 2011, the New Orleans Hornets opted to trade Chris Paul, which many were shocked about. It was reported that Paul forced his way out of NOLA, but those claims were combated with the comments that the star guard heard internal rumblings about him being shipped out, which led him to decide a fresh start was needed. Initially, the Hornets attempted to trade CP3 to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would've formed a duo with Kobe Bryant. Still, that deal was vetoed by commissioner David Stern in one of the most interesting decisions in all of sports history. Shortly after, Paul was dealt to the LA Clippers. Ironically enough, the Hornets were granted the No. 1 overall pick the following offseason, despite having the fourth-highest odds to win the NBA Draft Lottery. NOLA would then select a top prospect in Anthony Davis to give the market the desperately needed franchise face.
8) NOLA Ships AD to LA, Earns Top Pick
Another conspiracy theory involving NOLA and Anthony Davis stems from the blockbuster trade in 2019 that sent the Kentucky product to the Lakers to form a duo with LeBron James in arguably the biggest market in sports. Shortly after, the Pelicans were awarded the No. 1 overall pick, despite having a 6% chance to earn the top selection. Today, that No. 1 pick they earned goes by the name of Zion Williamson, an athletic freak that many believe the Pelicans were delivered as a gift for sending AD to LA.
9) Mavs Ship Luka, Granted Flagg
The most recent conspiracy theory that's sparking conversation about the NBA Draft Lottery being rigged comes from Monday night. Months after the Dallas Mavericks head scratching move to offload Luka Doncic, a generational talent amid his prime and months removed from a trip to the NBA Finals, to the Los Angeles Lakers out of the blue, the Mavs earn the No. 1 overall pick and essentially the sweepstakes to draft the top prospect in Cooper Flagg despite having a 1.8% chance to do so. Many believe he was given some information that they would be taken care of if they sent Doncic to the biggest market, sending waves through the sports world to increase viewership and ratings. It seems to make sense why Nico Harrison did what he did.
10) Spurs Land No. 2 Pick
In 2023, the San Antonio Spurs were granted the No. 1 overall pick and the right to draft a once-in-a-lifetime talent in Victor Wembanyama. Many believe his landing in San Antonio was rigged on its own, but considering the Spurs were tied for the highest odds to earn the pick, that can be overlooked. However, on Monday night, the league may as well have gift-wrapped an enormous offseason for the Spurs once again by allowing them to earn the No. 2 overall pick despite having a 6.3% chance to land there, as they were initially projected to pick at No. 8. At the same time, rumors about the potential trade request looming about Giannis Antetokounmpo asking out of Milwaukee and eyeing the Spurs continue to raise eyebrows. Either way, San Antonio is in a great spot, whether they decide to stand pat and pick a top prospect or use the No. 2 overall pick as trade bait to land another premier talent alongside Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox.

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1) Knicks Ewing - Frozen Envelope
Arguably, the most well-known conspiracy theory regarding the NBA Draft Lottery is the "Frozen Envelope" story, dating back 40 years to when the Draft Lottery began. Many believe that the envelope to indicate the Knicks' pick was tampered with to give commissioner David Stern the notion on which card the Knicks were to award them the No. 1 overall pick, and Patrick Ewing intentionally. No substantial evidence supports this claim, but it will forever be considered the most significant theory this time of year.

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