The NBA Draft Lottery has long been a breeding ground for wild speculation, but this year’s jaw-dropping result took things to a whole new level. The Dallas Mavericks — with just a 1.8% chance — vaulted 10 spots to win the No. 1 overall pick, securing the chance to draft top prospect Cooper Flagg in next month’s draft.
It’s the biggest leap in lottery history, and it couldn’t have come at a more controversial moment.
The Shock Factor
Just three months ago, the Mavericks sent franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić to the Lakers in a blockbuster trade that was widely criticized. The deal, seen by many as franchise sabotage, led to death threats against GM Nico Harrison and seemingly tanked the team’s immediate future.
Dallas limped to the end of the regular season with a 13–20 record post-trade, missing the playoffs only a year removed from a Finals appearance. No one expected the Mavericks to be anywhere near the No. 1 pick — especially not above teams with 20 fewer wins.
Luck or Something More?
Harrison and the Mavericks front office won’t be getting credit for building a lottery team — they didn’t try to. Injuries and roster instability dragged them into the bottom third of the league. But now, ping pong balls have flipped the narrative entirely.
What once looked like a disastrous, legacy-staining decision might now be seen as the stroke of luck that set Dallas up for the next generation.
Fuel for Conspiracies
With such improbable odds, high-stakes consequences, and timing that almost defies belief, fans and skeptics alike are once again raising eyebrows. Was it blind luck, or another page in the NBA’s long history of draft lottery “coincidences”?
Bottom Line
The Cooper Flagg sweepstakes have reshaped the Mavericks’ trajectory — and perhaps GM Nico Harrison’s legacy. Whether it’s fate, fortune, or something more suspicious, one thing is clear: the Luka trade now feels a lot less like disaster… and a lot more like destiny.
