The Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA world by winning the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, despite having only a 1.8% chance of landing it. The surprising outcome has sparked rumors that the lottery was rigged, especially since the Mavericks had just traded away their franchise star, Luka Doncic, and finished the season with a disappointing record.
Amid the growing speculation, ESPN announcer and NBA analyst Jay Bilas joined Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports to address the controversy. Bilas firmly dismissed the idea that the NBA Draft Lottery was rigged. He argued that such a belief doesn’t hold up under scrutiny and shared the strict controls in place during the process.
“No, I get it in the culture we live in, with all the Netflix crime stories. It’s an absurd notion when you really think about it. With all the people involved and all the controls in place and all the professionals,” Bilas said.
“Not to mention, if that were rigged, that would be a federal crime. I don’t think anyone involved would see the draft as being worth that sort of enterprise,” he added.
Jay Bilas Reflects On ‘Amazing’ NBA Draft Lottery Night After Mavericks Land No. 1 Pick
The NBA Draft Lottery has always been a place of unpredictability. But this year’s results left even the most experienced analysts speechless. The ESPN announcer openly admitted that he was stunned when the Mavericks landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
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“I’ve done the lottery a number of times. But there’s never been a night like that, with San Antonio, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Dallas. The three teams that were the best odds to make it couldn’t have wound up in a worse position. It was really an amazing night,” Bilas said.
Interestingly, the Mavericks’ leap from No. 11 to No. 1 is not unprecedented. A similar situation occurred in 2019 when the New Orleans Pelicans traded Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers and later secured the top pick with just a 6% chance.
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