Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, apparently, is part of the group that believes the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery was rigged for the Dallas Mavericks.
In one of the most incredible NBA Draft Lottery stunners of all time, the Mavericks won the No. 1 pick and the opportunity to draft Duke star Cooper Flagg. Dallas only had a 1.8 percent chance of winning the lottery, with the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets sharing the best odds at 14 percent.
Unfortunately for Adam Silver and the league, it’s all too easy for fans to accuse the NBA of “rigging” the lottery for Dallas. This team just traded franchise superstar Luka Doncic to the Lakers three months ago in a heavily panned move, and now the Mavericks get to redeem themselves by drafting Flagg.
LeBron James seemingly hinted at believing the lottery was rigged as well, judging by his interesting X/Twitter post once Dallas was revealed to be the lucky winners:
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 12, 2025
Don’t forget that during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” back in March, LeBron James made comments suggesting that the NBA Draft Lottery is rigged:
“During the ball drop, the lottery drop, Cleveland got the No. 1 pick? I just don’t think that… what a coincidence. Let’s keep LeBron home. Patrick Ewing to the Knicks, Derrick Rose to the Bulls, I understand the assignment.”
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LeBron been said the lottery is rigged lol pic.twitter.com/3WDmTeLAHF https://t.co/Yw7uUpM5vZ
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) May 12, 2025
Of course, fans accused the NBA of rigging the 2023 draft lottery for the San Antonio Spurs when they won the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. If the Jazz, Wizards or Hornets had won it, you’d still have plenty of unhappy fans saying the lottery was fixed.
LeBron James’ Lakers & The Mavericks Could Be Co-Winners Of Luka Doncic Trade
It’s way too early to predict how things will play out over the next five-plus years. But now that Dallas has won the draft lottery, it’s not a stretch to believe that the Doncic trade will go down as a win-win for all parties.
The Lakers have their new franchise megastar to build around when James retires. The Mavs essentially get two superstars, Flagg and Anthony Davis, for the price of one (Doncic). If Davis and Kyrie Irving can get healthy by the second half of next year, and if Flagg comes as advertised, the Mavs could re-emerge as a title contender right away.
Also Read: “Might As Well Start Watching WWE”: Social Media Is Convinced That The NBA “Rigged”
