The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery for 2025. This means they will have the privilege to select Cooper Flagg with the top pick. The NBA community disliked the Mavericks’ victory in the Lottery after the Luka Doncic trade in February.

This story becomes even more dramatic because of the presence of Mavericks CEO Rick Welts this year. The result also led the community to develop conspiracy theories about the Draft Lottery. Former NBA player and current analyst Richard Jefferson argues the NBA likes it when that happens.

Sports leagues are always entertaining, but the NBA is at its peak when it has drama. This Draft Lottery story is the latest entry in the league’s stories. Jefferson argues the NBA is okay with this because it brings drama and attention.

“The two percent does happen. It happens a lot. Everyone wants to say it’s rigged, but the NBA likes that illusion of this. It’s part of the allure,” Jefferson said on the Road Trippin’ podcast.

“The NBA is the most dramatic sport. It’s the second-biggest sport in the world, but it’s the most dramatic.”

“The drama that goes into basketball players on and off the court, all the drama, the pettiness, the dads on the court talking s*** to Hall of Famers, the NBA is always full of some s***. That’s just part of the drama. The NBA likes the fact that people are like, ‘Oh, this is rigged.'”

Jefferson has good insights about the league, so he makes an understandable point. However, he is also correct in his assessment that the league is not rigging the Lottery. There is too much at stake, so a scandal like that would be excessive.

It might be time for NBA fans to accept that Dallas was lucky enough to be in that position after the Draft Lottery. Teams with the worst regular season records did not get their expected positions, so they were unlucky.

“There are billionaires out there competing for Cooper Flagg. You think the Washington Wizards owner is going to let something be rigged and miss out on a guy that could change his franchise,” Jefferson continued.

This was a tough pill to swallow for some teams and their fans, which is why there are conspiracies. The NBA probably likes the attention because the league gets more views and social media buzz. However, there is probably no truth to any conspiracy theory out there.

It would be best for the NBA to deny the conspiracy theories to clear everything up. However, they will probably keep benefiting from the buzz, like what Jefferson said. That is the name of the game today, as they want to keep building a passionate audience.