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New York – It is likely that Dallas Mavericks was the worst kept secret in sports history and officially made it Wednesday night when they chose Duke Superstar Cooper Flagg with the total election # 1 in the NBA draft.
From the moment Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery on May 12 until Wednesday, this moment was never in doubt. But conspiracy theorists believe Flagg became a Maverick long before May 12.
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Dallas Mavericks’ Rolando Blackman celebrates after NBA -Vice Commissioner Mark Tatum announced that Mavericks won the first election in the NBA Basketball Draft Lottery in Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Dallas shocked the sports world in early February when it apparently traded with its franchisee Luka Dončić to Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team agreement that also involved Utah Jazz. In turn, Mavericks received Anthony Davis. But did they also receive the first election of the 2025 NBA draft so they could choose flagg? That’s the question that has circulated the Internet.
In turn, Flagg was not interested in tackling Internet conspiracy theorists when Outkick asked him on Wednesday night.
“I don’t know what to say about it,” said Flagg with a mood. “I have no insider information if that’s what you’re looking for, but I just feel blessed for the way it all worked.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver essentially denied that it was the case earlier this week when he said on a podcast that he only found out about the Doncic trade hours before the rest of the world did.
Duke -Tip Cooper Flagg responds to Houston during the second half of the national semi -final at the Final Four of NCAA College Basketball Tournament, Saturday April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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“Luka is a good example of where the teams are very secret, they didn’t necessarily overturn us. We had heard of it before the public, but it was only a matter of hours,” Silver said, also adding that he did not possess the power to shut down veto dealer – not that he would have done it anyway.
It does not prevent people from wondering. What are the odds that Mavericks would trade their best player for Los Angeles Lakers – the most popular NBA franchise – and three months later hit a less than 2 percent chance of drafting a player who is expected to be the next big league superstar?
The answer is a 1.8% chance. And it happens.
Obviously, the NBA will never admit that it rigged a draft of lottery, and frankly the chances are quite slim, as it did. At the end of the day, Cooper Flagg is now an NBA player for Dallas Mavericks and has a chance to become the next side of the league.
Commissioner of NBA Adam Silver talks at the press conference before the NBA season Tournament Finals Game between Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on December 9, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The NBA also needs it because the ratings are falling at a fast pace. The league desperately wants the flagg to become the next big superstar who pulls relaxed sports fans to professional basketball. Whether he can be the guy is the age of seeing.
