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NEW YORK – Arguably the worst-kept concealed successful sports history, the Dallas Mavericks made it authoritative connected Wednesday nighttime erstwhile they selected Duke superstar Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 wide pick successful the NBA Draft.
From the infinitesimal the Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery connected May 12 until Wednesday, this infinitesimal was ne'er successful doubt. But the conspiracy theorists judge that Flagg became a Maverick agelong earlier May 12.
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Dallas Mavericks' Rolando Blackman celebrates aft NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum announced that the Mavericks won the archetypal prime successful the NBA hoops draught lottery successful Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Dallas shocked the sports satellite successful aboriginal February erstwhile it traded, seemingly, its franchise subordinate Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers successful a three-team woody that besides progressive the Utah Jazz. In return, the Mavericks received Anthony Davis. But did they besides person the archetypal prime successful the 2025 NBA Draft truthful they could prime Flagg? That's the question that has been circulating the Internet.
For his part, Flagg did not attraction to code Internet conspiracy theorists erstwhile OutKick asked him connected Wednesday night.
"I don't cognize what to accidental astir that," Flagg said with a chuckle. "I person nary insider accusation if that's what you're looking for, but I conscionable consciousness blessed for the mode it each worked out."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fundamentally denied that to beryllium the lawsuit earlier this week erstwhile helium said on a podcast that helium lone recovered retired astir the Doncic commercialized hours earlier the remainder of the satellite did.
Duke guardant Cooper Flagg reacts against the Houston during the 2nd fractional successful the nationalist semifinals astatine the Final Four of the NCAA assemblage hoops tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, successful San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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"Luka is simply a bully illustration wherever the teams are precise secretive, they're not needfully tipping america off. We had heard astir it earlier the public, but it was lone a substance of hours," Silver said, portion besides adding that helium does not person the powerfulness to veto trades – not that helium would person done that, anyway.
That isn't stopping radical from wondering. What are the likelihood that the Mavericks would commercialized their champion subordinate to the Los Angeles Lakers – the astir fashionable NBA franchise – and 3 months aboriginal deed a little than 2 percent accidental to draught a subordinate expected to beryllium the adjacent large league superstar?
Well, the reply is simply a 1.8% chance. And that does happen.
Obviously, the NBA is ne'er going to admit that it rigged a draught lottery and, rather frankly, the chances are rather slim that it did. At the extremity of the day, Cooper Flagg is present an NBA subordinate for the Dallas Mavericks and has a accidental to go the adjacent look of the league.
Commissioner of the NBA Adam Silver speaks astatine the property league earlier the NBA In-Season Tournament Finals crippled betwixt Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers astatine the T-Mobile Arena successful Las Vegas, Nevada, United States connected December 9, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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The NBA needs it, too, due to the fact that ratings are declining astatine a accelerated pace. The league desperately wants Flagg to go the adjacent large superstar that draws casual sports fans to nonrecreational basketball. Whether helium tin beryllium that feline remains to beryllium seen.
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